On Easter Monday, April 21, Pope Francis died at 88. His death has officially been listed as being due to natural causes, most notably old age. Francis was known for his more liberal-leaning views by the end of his life.
According to the BBC, “A short video released by the Vatican upon his death showed his intimate relationship with the Palestinian territory’s tiny Christian community, many of whom he came to know by name,” a last show of the Pope’s compassion for others.
Additionally, the BBC noted that, “On Sunday in his Easter message, his last public appearance, he was again calling for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Francis also expressed support for the LGBTQ+ community during his life, a choice, among others, that garnered him criticism from the conservative Catholic community.
“Pope Francis’s attention to the sick, the marginalised and the poor, placing them in the spotlight of Christ’s love will be, for me, a defining memory of his Pontificate,” Michael Icgrave, the bishop of Lichfield, conveyed to the BBC.
Cynthia Lambert Cheshire, the Catholic campus minister at Keene State from 2012-2021, shared some insight about her role at KSC and the effect the pope’s death will have.
“My experience is different from that of teachers,” Cheshire said. “Not all religious scholars are religious. I happen to be, but that doesn’t mean it overlaps with my scholarship. I’m really interested in how people use the old texts today versus its original context.”
“I think he [Pope Francis] will be very missed,” Cheshire went on. “He was a pope that welcomed a lot of people. I think a lot of non-Catholics will miss him. I also believe we will see an impact from his successor. There’s a chance of him furthering Francis’ goals or pulling back.”
Cheshire also provided some details about how a new pope is chosen.
“The process by which one is chosen is called conclave,” Cheshire said. “An old, secretive event. We know a lot about the process, but we don’t know about the rules that happen within the conclave event itself.”
Cheshire further explained the conclave is composed of church leaders called cardinals and that the conclave event itself is held about nine days after the funeral of the previous pope. During the conclave, Cheshire stressed the cardinals are known to discuss issues that the church needs to address to pick a new pope.
On April 28 at 6 p.m., Cheshire held a screening of the movie “Conclave” in Morrison 110.
The film, true to its name, covered the conclave event that happens after the death of a pope, in which the cardinals pick his successor. The audience consisted mostly of members of the CALL program. A member of the crowd for the night was Bob Tortolani, who put forward some of his opinions about the film.
“We’ve been taught that age means wisdom,” said Tortolani after the screening and during the Q&A. “They eliminate a lot of possibilities with the under-80 rule, which is obviously intended to allow a pope to live longer. I think they are eliminating a lot of wisdom, though.”
“I thought it was very unrealistic that the gentleman who gave the interesting speech became pope,” Tortolani said later on in regards to the film’s ending. “Given that all the other cardinals knew each other for years.”
CRU Keene and Saint Bernard Catholic Church were reached out to for comment, with no response.
Chloe Erno can be contacted at
cerno@kscequinox.com
