Pope Francis was a voice for the poor, the environment and a critic of war and rampant consumerism

Thus said Archbishop Eamon Martin at a Memorial Mass for the late Pontiff in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh on Thursday.

The Derry-born Primate of All-Ireland spoke of how Jorge Mario Bergoglio in life had sought to follow the example of his ‘beloved Saint Francis of Assisi, who had given up everything for a life of radical poverty and humility’.

"Like the amazing Saint Francis of Assisi, the new pope Francis immediately began to prioritise the poor and the marginalised - and not just those who are financially poor, but everyone who is exploited, excluded, forgotten, or abused,” said Archbishop Martin.

Pope Francis took to heart the instruction of St. Francis to ‘preach the gospel always [and] if necessary, use words’ and lived this in his ‘sincere empathy for migrants at the island of Lampedusa, his going into prisons to wash and kiss the feet of prisoners and his humble avoidance of many of the traditional privileges and accoutrements of the papacy’.

Archbishop Martin referred to the late Pope’s environmentalism expressed in his 2015 ‘Laudato si’’ encyclical.

"He alerted the entire world to the 'cry of the Earth' which he said is also the 'cry of the poor'. He consistently highlighted the moral and ethical implications of climate change and the imperative facing humanity to protect the gifts of creation for future generations,” the congregation heard.

He had been ‘unafraid to criticise the drawbacks of modern capitalism and rampant consumerism, the limitless and sometimes ruthless exploitation of the world’s resources and the crime of so much waste’ and his 2020 encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’, the congregation was told, was a powerful plea for brotherhood and solidarity, which rejected racism and war and championed migrants.

"Pope Francis made a special appeal in the name of all those on the ‘margins’, the ‘peripheries’ of life and society. But again he challenged us by suggesting that the peripheries are not always far away, ‘Some peripheries are close to us, in the city centres or in our families’: the homeless persons lying on our streets, refugees in tents or camps, starving children, innocent victims of war – how easy it us to feel sorry for them but then quickly ‘shift our gaze’, never really questioning our own values, lifestyle and attitudes,” said the senior Derry clergyman.

The late Pope was a vocal opponent of war until the end, Archbishop Martin noted, stating: “Almost every day since the brutal attacks by Hamas in October 2023 and Israel’s merciless response, he telephoned the tiny Christian community in Gaza to offer them accompaniment, prayers and encouragement.”

And in his final message on Easter Sunday he reflected: “What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children!

"How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants! On this day…I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible. Christ is risen!

"These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life.”