Pope Francis: an authentic pilgrim of hope
Pilgrims of every continent, culture and religious tradition will have been saddened to hear of the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday 2025. He has been an inspiration for so many of us.
In 2016 he said of pilgrims:
“Whoever they may be — young or old, rich or poor, sick and troubled or curious tourists — let them find due welcome, because in every person there is a heart in search of God, at times without being fully aware of it.”[1]
He inspired this project, and its title comes from his words.
Pope Francis recognised that we are all on a search for meaning and purpose in our lives, whatever our backgrounds, however we are wounded or broken, and despite the baggage we carry. As pope his own pilgrimage took him to the margins: to Lampedusa to bring hope to migrants, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan to seek peace, to Turkey to deepen interfaith dialogue, and to many other places where human dignity is violated or threatened. He was not afraid to travel as a vulnerable person who needed help and a wheelchair.
More clearly than any other world leader he saw that the environmental crises we face are intrinsically linked to our current social, political, and economic problems. He wrote that we need “an integrated approach to combating poverty”, one which “protects nature” while at the same time “restoring dignity to the excluded”[2].
In 2024 he set the theme for the 2025 Jubilee Holy Year as ‘pilgrims of hope’ and wrote:
“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life." [3]
I hope that people of all faiths and none will find silence, effort and simplicity of life as they walk the pilgrim ways they find on this website.
May Francis, beloved pilgrim pope and a true servant of the servants of God, rest in peace and rise in glory.
Phil McCarthy, project lead
The Vatican has produced a moving short video of the highlights of the papacy which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qQuvJ9TmtQ
[1] Pope Francis, address to those engaged in pilgrimage work and rectors of shrines, 21.01.2016
[2] Pope Francis, Laudato si’ p139
[3] Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit, Bull of Indiction of the 2025 Jubilee, p5
Images from Wikimedia Commons:
Icon: Pope Francis in St Peter's Square, Gabriel Sozzi, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Banner: Pope Francis in Prato, Zebra48bo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
