On April 21, 2025, the death of Pope Francis took the Catholic Community and the world by storm. Pope Francis was always a friend to other religious communities besides his own, encouraging interfaith dialogue throughout his papacy. His passing is a signal that it is now our turn to share his legacy to make sure it never dies.
Being able to share the Pope’s legacy in a respectful manner with these religions can help us in the search for interfaith understanding. Pope Francis encouraged harmony between the Abrahamic religions. He never saw other religions as ”different”, but instead believed that “…All religions are paths to God…they are like different languages that express the divine”.
On May 8th, white smoke appeared on the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, with bells ringing from St Peter’s Basilica, and the words “Habemus Papam” uttered by the senior Cardinal Deacon.
Pope Leo XIV, 17 days after Pope Francis’ passing, was elected the new Pope with a prosperous papacy ahead of him.
While he just started his papacy, a detail I really enjoyed about him was that he was born American; nevertheless, his appreciation for Peruvian culture extends beyond Peruvians to all other Latinos. This allows us to feel represented once again in our religious leader, something only Pope Francis has been able to achieve. As a fifteen-year-old Latina immigrant, Pope Francis will always be memorable to me as the first Latino Pope, giving me and all of the Latino population way more connection to our faith because someone from our culture was the face of the Catholic Church.
Dialogue and fraternity
Pope Leo XIV’s address on May 19 officially welcomed our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters and expressed his gratitude for them, explaining: ”…because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism…Relations between the Catholic Church and Muslims have been marked by a growing commitment to dialogue and fraternity”. From this address, it is clear that his way to interfaith is basically picking up where Pope Francis left off, aiming to continue his legacy.
His formal greeting of our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters is truly heartwarming, and I adore that he took the extra step in acknowledging them and claiming that they are not different from us at all.
Spreading peace
I really enjoyed how effortlessly Pope Francis taught others on important matters instead of judging them outright. I also liked the way he spread peace throughout his papacy in a way that fits in today’s society, and the same approach is being taken by Pope Leo. He stresses the importance of interfaith dialogue and generalizes peace for all types of communities, claiming that all of humanity deserves peace, and it is what we should strive for, so nobody suffers because of violence.
Pope Leo XIV shares the same ideas as his predecessor, making him the perfect person to both continue his legacy and represent all of us Catholics in today’s world. Overall, he is really well prepared to be Pope, and I believe he will involve the younger generations in the Catholic Church more than ever before.
The Dr. Ghoulem Berrah Foundation has high hopes for Pope Leo XIV that he will unite all of us as one. May the Lord be with him in all his endeavours.
By 15-years old Valeria Alvarez