JVC Honors Pope Francis by Monica Valenzuela

mvalenzuela77 — 2025-04-21 18:26:38 UTC

Pope Francis helped me renew my faith as a Catholic through his humility and compassion. I pray that his legacy of inclusion and mercy continue to bridge gaps of inequality and foster solidarity.

Papa Francisco tu cariño por la creación nos llama a trabajar por un mundo mejor. You will continue to inspire my students as they read your words and ponder care of creation. We will miss you greatly.

2025-04-22 14:23:08 UTC

2025-04-22 14:54:59 UTC

In many ways, Pope Francis accompanied me through becoming an adult in my faith. I was sitting in a first year undergraduate theology class when the bells above me rang, announcing a new pope had been chosen. At DC schools, students often do a "run to the White House" after a presidential election, so after a papal election, a group of us decided to instead run to the Jesuit residence to celebrate the first Jesuit pope! That summer I went to Rio for World Youth Day and felt alive in my faith alongside a million other young people. WYD gave me a new understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a "Global Church." Pope Francis' encyclicals and other writings helped me put my faith into words and shaped what my friends discussed in the classrooms and in the residence halls, and then later in JVC. Now, back at a Jesuit university as a staff member, his impact continues. I will miss him tremendously. I am grateful to have witnessed and learned from his leadership and will continue to strive to follow his example.

2025-04-22 15:58:32 UTC

Pope Francis brought me back to the church that, quite frankly, had broken my heart. Although he wasn't perfect, his humility and faith in action inspired me.

I was blessed to see him in person when he came to Philly for the World Meeting of Families. Celebrating Mass on the Parkway and seeing the effect he had on thousands of people was breathtaking.

AMDG, Papa Francisco. We will miss you.

2025-04-22 17:03:27 UTC

Pope Francis’ spirituality has deeply molded my own. His influence most definitely impacted my decision to join JVC. I pray that both I and the Church continues to live his call to radical solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

Hope

2025-04-22 18:39:45 UTC

Pope Francis made hope real for me. He gave me hope seeing his courage the past few months but for years before his illness too. He insisted that our faith IS our hope, that God does not disappoint, we can trust in God’s deep love for all of us.

That has changed me. This February I was in Rome and was a Pilgrim of Hope, entering the Holy Doors at the 4 main Basilicas. I joined others praying for Pope Francis outside St Peter’s. I now feel that hope feels like HOME. A sense of love, being known and cared for. Life gets hard sometimes and I HOPE that my actions and my faith and persistence - even courage and joy - can help inspire hope in others too. Like him.

2025-04-22 18:52:16 UTC

Pope Francis helped me feel less alone and in the margins within my own church. Seeing him in Philadelphia and DC parades in 2015 was intoxicating in terms of excitement and something I will forever be grateful for. He's reminder that we are a church with the preferential option for the poor was refreshing, and so encouraging to feel that we had a champion of that cause in the Holy See. Today I walked around Catholic University and said a prayer that his soul may be at peace at the spot where he performed mass and the first US soil canonization in 2015. He was a most faithful servant and may his example of humility and reminder that Christ loved and served all people be a powerful reminder and example in this day and age.

Pope Francis has been the best Pope in my lifetime. His concern for the poor and vulnerable and our society has been uplifting. He has been a model of Catholic Social Justice for me and many others.

2025-04-22 22:54:21 UTC

Papa Francesco helped understand and incorporate the Jesuit values in my life and work because he lived by example. I remember talking about his life to my volunteer roommates during spirituality nights. He is a light in the darkness. St. Ignatius of Loyola must be proud to have a descendant like him.

2025-04-23 02:10:17 UTC

Love & Unity

2025-04-23 11:45:11 UTC

Pope Francis was a true beacon of love and compassion, embodying the very essence of what it means to lead with kindness and grace. Through his words and actions, he showed the world that a leader’s greatest strength is found in love. His presence touched countless lives, and his legacy of faith and humanity will continue to inspire. As my 85-year-old mother so beautifully expressed, though we may not have known him personally, we feel the deep loss in our hearts. He was a great man, and his absence will be felt in both our lives and our souls. Denise Bennett-Walls

Pope Francis, pray for us.

2025-05-10 16:23:35 UTC