Remembering Pope Francis. Cardinal Semeraro: “A friend and a shepherd always open to the Spirit”

“His immense humanity and deep spirituality remain enshrined in my heart.” Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and a close collaborator of Pope Francis for many years as Secretary of the Council of Cardinals, shares his memories of the late pontiff. His Eminence recalls his personal relationship with Bergoglio on the day of the funeral, reflecting on the spiritual, pastoral, and ecclesial legacy that the late Pope leaves behind.

Your Eminence, you have served Pope Francis as Secretary of the Council of Cardinals since the early days of his pontificate. But your acquaintance with him dates back to the period following the attack on the Twin Towers. What memories do you have of the past twelve years?

It was in the early days of the 10th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (September/October 2001) that I first met Cardinal Bergoglio, who was there as adjunct general rapporteur for the reasons you mentioned.

That initial collaboration gradually evolved into a friendship, nurtured by the various meetings that took place during his visits to Rome while I was bishop of the nearby Church of Albano.

 

And before his election to the papal throne…?

Before the start of the 2013 Conclave, we spent a few hours together, during which I suggested he visit the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo before returning to Buenos Aires. At the time, I certainly did not anticipate his elevation to the See of Peter, which in fact did happen.

 

 

When did your working relationship grow closer?

It was immediately after he invited me to serve on the ‘Council of Cardinals’. How was I to refuse? Our friendship was renewed through our collaboration, a privilege I enjoyed until 14 April, when I met him in person for the last time.

 

What are your memories about that last meeting?

While all other times I saw his openness of heart, on that occasion I saw in him the embodiment of human frailty.

 

I cherish in particular the memories of his rich humanum, also marked by a rich sense of humour, warmth and joy, along with the vitality of his soul and his deep spirituality.

In 2023, I wrote an essay about him entitled “The Franciscanism of a Jesuit Pope”. I wouldn’t change a word of it.

 

Pope Francis requested that his funeral follow the updated edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, approved by him in 2024, providing for a simpler, more pastoral approach to funeral rites. What is your interpretation of this choice?

We received the text from the Office for Liturgical Celebrations in November 2024. The rescript states that Pope Francis himself asked to “simplify and adapt certain rites so that the celebration of the funeral of the Bishop of Rome may better express the faith of the Church in the Risen Christ, the eternal shepherd”. This choice is consistent with his pastoral style and is valid for everyone, in whatever way they are reached by Jesus’ message: “Feed my sheep” (Jn 21:17).

 

The decision to be buried in the Basilica of St Mary Major rather than St Peter’s has attracted considerable attention. What are your thoughts on this choice?

In fact, other popes are buried in that Marian basilica. This decision is consistent with his devotion to the Salus Populi Romani, the title given in the 19th century to the ancient icon depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, which is preserved there.

Are there any recent precedents?

Indeed. For example, Pius IX (1878) and Leo XIII (1903) are not buried in Saint Peter’s Basilica, but in the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls and the Basilica of Saint John Lateran respectively. Therefore, Francis is not disrupting a ‘secular tradition’. He has made a choice, as announced in his Testament of 29 June 2022.

Pope Francis has often highlighted the importance of synodality and reforming the Curia. What impact will this have on the Church?

The need to adapt the structures of the Church – including the Roman Curia – to respond to the needs of our times is, to me, self-evident. The apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium states that the reform of the Roman Curia is to be viewed “in the context of the Church’s missionary nature”. In continuity with previous reforms, it declares the intention ‘to attune its present-day activity more effectively to the path of evangelisation that the Church, especially in our time, has taken” (Preamble, n. 3).

Is this not the first time this has happened?

There have been ‘updates’ and adaptations even before Francis, closer to the time of St Paul VI and St John Paul II, I would say. “Evangelising is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists to evangelise,” wrote Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi. Therefore, we should not be surprised by new updates.

Consequently, it would be unsurprising if, for these reasons, it was deemed necessary to consider a new “update”.

As Francis said in his address to the Roman Curia on 21 December 2019, “What we are living through is not simply an era of change, but a change of epoch”.

And what about synodality?

In my opinion, the 2018 document by the International Theological Commission provides clear guidance on this matter. Accordingly, in light of the normative sources and its theological foundations, ‘synodality designates first and foremost the distinctive style that characterises the life and mission of the Church’ (n. 70). Anything else is either implementation or unnecessary and harmful.

In your role as Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, you have experienced Pope Francis’s spirituality first-hand. Which aspects do you consider to be exemplary for the people of God?

Regarding holiness, I am reminded of Francis’s words in section 7 of the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, where he refers to the ‘saints next door’.

Rather than simplifying Christian life, this concept strongly references the vocation to holiness mentioned by Vatican II. Ultimately, this is the only truly ‘universal’ vocation.

Is holiness accessible to everyone?

Indeed. The other Christian vocations either stem from this one or are nothing but vanity.