Rachel Mak, Staff Photographer

Trucy Truong-Phan ’25 was “shocked and saddened” when she first heard about Pope Francis’ death on a call with her mom. She said that since Francis has been the Pope for the majority of her life, it has shaped her perception of Catholicism. 

“Personally, he’s shown me that living out Catholic values isn’t just about doctrine, but also about action, empathy, and community,” Truong-Phan wrote to the News.

On Monday morning, the Vatican announced Francis’ death due to a cerebral stroke. The 88-year-old had been hospitalized for 38 days, where he was treated for double pneumonia. 

Members of the Yale community reflected on the Pope’s legacy, many saying that he reshaped the Catholic Church for a new era. They said his death marked not just the loss of a spiritual leader but the end of a papacy that transformed how they understood faith — and their place within it.

Stephen McNulty ’25, who leads the LGBTQ ministry at St. Thomas More, Yale’s center for Catholic students, wrote to the News that it was “appropriate” that Francis’ last full day of life was on Easter Sunday as his “papacy was new life for a tired Church.”

“Francis was elevated to the papacy in a time of crisis for the Church,” wrote McNulty. He described the Pope as someone who tried to diversify the College of the Cardinals, the body of all cardinals in the Catholic Church.   

“He represents the reinvigoration of the Catholic social tradition: one rooted in a commitment to peace, environmental justice, care for the poor, and defense of refugees,” McNulty added. “He was often a lonely prophet in a violent world.”

In his 12-year tenure, Pope Francis was widely known for his embrace of inclusivity, environmental advocacy and a pastoral approach that emphasized mercy over doctrine. At Yale, where students of many theological and political views coexist in a single faith community, his death prompted a convergence of admiration and uncertainty about what comes next.

For McNulty, Francis’s openness toward marginalized groups was deeply personal.

“Queer people have often had a complicated relationship with Francis’s Church … but for the first time in recent memory, we had a Pope willing to listen and learn,” he wrote.

Liz Frausto ’25 called the death of Pope Francis “a reminder of the fragility of life.”

Frausto said that as a “young person making the cognizant decision to be a part of the Catholic Church,” the Pope has served as a “beacon of light” for what the Church is and what it strives to be — and inspired her to be “a fierce advocate” for the causes she believe in.

Helena Vargas ’26, who hugged Pope Francis during a childhood visit to the Vatican, said she viewed his papacy as one of “incredible strides.”

“As a very devout Catholic, but also a liberal Catholic, I want to see the Church change for the better,” Vargas said. “He repeatedly acknowledged the Church’s role in colonialism — an uncommon act. He permitted priests to bless gay couples and said, “I don’t bless a ‘same-sex marriage,’ I bless two people who love each other and I also ask them to pray for me. I loved Pope Francis.”

Jack Ludwick ’28 hopes that Pope Francis’ papacy will be remembered for his love. He noted how, as Pope, he instilled a message of love to Catholics worldwide in “our faith, theology, and prayer.”

He also noted that Pope Francis, as the first Jesuit priest, encouraged “all of us to encounter God in all things, in all people, and in all spaces of life.” He hopes that Pope Francis’ love and service will carry on through the 1.3 billion Catholics he taught to love and serve.”

Hunter Wimsatt ’26 also reflected how “Pope Francis was truly unlike any other pope before.”

Wimsatt noted that Pope Francis had such a strong affection for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized, and helped recenter the Church’s mission to servitude.

“As time goes on, I believe he will be seen as a crucial instrument of God’s will, and he will be remembered for his stark disapprovals of today’s violence and extremism both in the United States and globally,” said Wimsatt.

For many students, Francis’s death also brings concern about the Church’s future and whether his legacy of reform will endure.

“I feel some anxiety about what the future holds, about whether the Church’s drive for reform or inclusivity will weaken with his passing, but I have faith that the seeds Pope Francis planted will continue to grow and bear fruit for generations to come,” Frausto said.

Father Ryan Lerner, chaplain of STM and the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hartford, emphasized the importance of carrying forward the Pope’s vision of “missionary discipleship” and healing.

He wrote about being both “saddened” by the Pope’s passing but also “immensely grateful” for his leadership. He said he is “shepherding” his community through this time of mourning.

Carlos Eire, a professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale, wrote that as a historian, he views the Pope’s death as the “end of a very unique and sometimes inconsistent papacy.” Eire pointed out that while many have praised the Pope’s theological and political legacy, he believes the Pope’s theological and political legacy will remain controversial for a very long time.

Eire also expressed his own bewilderment at times with the Pope constantly having to backtrack on off-the-cuff public statements that he noted lacked clarity. He explained that, unlike the Pope’s two predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who were “very evenhanded in their denunciation of every kind of materialism — be it socialist, communist, or capitalist —  Francis constantly scolded capitalist democracies, but always refrained from condemning hard-left dictatorships.”

When asked who might replace the Pope, Eire stated that Pope Francis has appointed 110 of 138 cardinals who will be eligible to vote for his successor. 

“There is a good chance that the next pope could be an admirer of Francis who will attempt to follow in his footsteps,” wrote Eire.

As a Conclave is expected to form soon to appoint the next Pope, Ludwick said that he is praying for clarity and guidance for the Cardinals to select a new Pope who will lead the Church to greater faithfulness and closeness with God. 

Pope Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, stepped down on Feb. 28, 2013.

Correction, April 24: Benedict XVI stepped down, not died, in 2013.