Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
Just two days ago on Easter Monday, the Holy Father Pope Francis passed away to his eternal reward. Back at the end of February, when it seemed as if the Pope was in his final moments, I shared a video in which I gave a brief reflection on him. His illness made me think of how the Popes during my life have been men for all seasons, as I would call them. It’s the title of an old movie about St. Thomas More, as many of you know, A Man for All Seasons. It’s a very good movie, actually.
I was baptized on the day that Pope Paul VI died in 1978, but essentially Pope St. John Paul II was the Pope of my youth. He was certainly what I would call a summertime Pope. He had a very warm, very winsome personality. Summer’s also the time for travel, and no one traveled the world more than he did. Summer’s the time to be outdoors and to be with people, and no one was with more people than John Paul II. He saw more people in person than anyone else, perhaps in the history of the whole earth up until now. His pontificate was a bright and sunny time in the church. After decades of difficulties, difficulties in the church but also difficulties in the world as well, he helped bring down communism in Russia, which began to let the sun shine spiritually in there after 70-plus years of an atheistic regime. So Pope St. John Paul II, I would consider him a summer Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI, more of a fall or an autumn Pope. Fall is the season where you get back to school, and Benedict was a scholar. He was more of a theologian, more introverted, more bookish in respect to John Paul II. Pope Benedict was a serious study kind of person. Fall is also a season for beauty and glory, the changing of the seasons. Where I’m from in the Northeast, the changing of the leaves and the trees in fall is actually a glorious time. Even here in southern Indiana, walking through the halls of the friary during the October weeks, you see how the evening sun shines on the leaves and in the windows of the friary cells. It makes the corridor radiant with colored light that floods in through the windows. It’s actually quite a scene for a brief few weeks in October, a brief window of time. Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy was relatively brief, but he helped revive the glory and the beauty of the liturgy, which was a key aspect of his pontificate, and it’s one of the things for which he will be principally remembered. And then, as we know, in the fall of his lifetime, he retired. So, Pope Benedict XVI, scholarly and liturgically splendid, he was more of a fall Pope.
Pope Francis, I would characterize as a winter Pope. Winter’s a time for being indoors. It’s a time for introspection. Pope Francis had a background in psychology, which is an introspective science. He gave a lot of good insights into the human condition. He had a great concern for individuals and gave a lot of good advice on how to work on ourselves spiritually. That interior housework that you do during the winter months. Winter’s also what I would call a humble season, at least where I’m from. You’ve got the snow and the quiet and the shoveling and not a lot of external vibrance. Pope Francis was very humble, not flashy at all. And he was pretty simple, too. As one person noted to me, Francis brought into the church the winds of great humility and great mercy, two virtues whose beauty is not always appreciated. Humility and mercy. Just as many people don’t appreciate the beauty of the humble and not so flashy winter months.
Winter’s also not a time for growth, and from what I understand, there was a general decline in vocations under Pope Francis’s pontificate, so not a lot of enthusiasm for the religious life or the priesthood. Also, winter can be a tough season, and for a number of people, Pope Francis’s pontificate was pretty tough. Winter, at least where I’m from, can be cold and bitter and harsh and severe. Sadly, many people in the church were cold, bitter and harsh and severe towards Pope Francis. It’s a behavior that was not edifying at all, and it was quite an unpleasant experience. And winter, again, at least where I’m from, is usually not a pleasant season.
Thinking of Pope Francis reminded me of the words of Simeon to Our Lady in the temple, when Simeon said that Our Lord would be a sign that would be spoken against and that he would reveal the thoughts of many hearts. That’s Luke 2, verses 34 and 35. Pope Francis was a sign of contradiction to many people, and he really brought out some of the not so good things that were in people’s hearts, to put it nicely. And like with Our Lord, I’m sure that Our Lady’s heart was pierced as well because of the disrespect and animosity that the Holy Father endured. So all of that to say that I see Pope Francis essentially as a winter Pope.
The season that comes after winter is what? It’s spring. It’s the season we’re in now. So I think that if the Lord continues in this pattern, the next Pope will be a springtime Pope. Spring is a season for renewal, for new life, for new love, new growth. I think that the next Holy Father will help usher in a new springtime, a new renewal in the church. He’ll bring new light and new love into the church, new life as well. And I suspect that a lot of hearts will turn to the Lord and turn back to him under the next Holy Father. I also expect an increase in vocations and truly a revival, a revival in our country, but also a spiritual revival in the church as well.
We had a Eucharistic Congress here in our country just last year. The heart of it was in Indianapolis, just an hour north from us. So I think that part of the fruit of the Congress will be a true spiritual revival led by the Holy Spirit and very much in tune with the spirit of the new pontificate. So I think that the next Pope, whoever he will be, will be a springtime Pope, and that’ll be a beautiful thing. I believe that the Lord has a lot of blessings and good things for us right around the corner, but we’ll see how it all plays out. We’ll just have to wait and see regarding these things.
Let’s just ask Our Lady for the grace to go forward in this season of spring with a spirit of faith, hope, and charity. Let’s pray for the repose of our Lord’s humble servant, Pope Francis, and let’s ask him to pray for us as well, that the Holy Spirit would open up a new season of grace for the church, for our country, and for the world as well, which all need new life, new hope, new love. 
Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.