He advocated for the poor, the elderly, migrants and refugees. He championed care for creation and an end to global wars. Over the course of his 12-year pontificate, Pope Francis sought to uplift the marginalized and unify a global church in faith and service to the poor. His words and actions resonated in the hearts of Catholics across the globe, including priests and parishioners in the Arlington diocese.
For nearly six years, Msgr. Paul F. deLadurantaye worked alongside Pope Francis as an interpreter in the English Section of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Fluent in Italian, Msgr. deLadurantaye served the pope from 2018 to 2024, writing official letters and facilitating conversations with heads of state, celebrities, dignitaries of all kinds, and English-speaking bishops.
It was the pope’s compassion that stood out. “What I was able to witness in his interactions with people (whether as individuals or in group settings) was Pope Francis’ living out of his encyclical letter ‘Fratelli Tutti’— for him, every person was a brother or sister and a child of God, and this was a reality that guided his approach to people,” said Msgr. deLadurantaye, who now serves as diocesan chancellor.
“He listened to what they had to say to him with patience and understanding, and in turn he responded with a pastor’s heart, shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “It was evident to me that in speaking with anyone, whether a head of state, a cardinal or bishop or someone who just wanted to greet him briefly, Pope Francis sought to model the closeness, compassion and loving care God has for us.”
Of his legacy, Msgr. deLadurantaye said the pope’s “strong promotion of the dignity of every person and his concern that those on the peripheries — the unborn, children, the elderly, the sick, the poor, migrants and refugees — not be forgotten and discarded by what he termed a ‘throwaway society,’ ” he said. “Likewise, his focus on care for creation, on synodality as a defining characteristic of the church, and his constant reminder that the church’s faithful are called to be missionary disciples, bearing witness to Christ and to the joy of the Gospel through their example of life and concrete acts of generous service and charity, would also be enduring aspects of his legacy.”
“The Holy Father’s pontificate was marked by his desire that all may draw nearer to the heart of Jesus and bear witness to his unconditional love,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said. “Pope Francis called us to live the joy of the Gospel and be a church of missionary disciples who go out and accompany those on the peripheries of society. The Holy Father urged everyone to work together in a spirit of fraternal solidarity and dialogue to overcome conflicts and injustices, to care for our common home, and to build bridges of peace and reconciliation.”
Father John F. Heisler, parochial vicar of St. Michael Church in Annandale and a member of the diocesan tribunal, said the pope will always be remembered for his emphasis on “the cry of the poor.”
“He, like Pope John Paul II, encouraged us not to be afraid of the encounter of Christ with our humanity, our broken humanity, encountering Christ also in the brokenness of each other,” said Father Heisler. “In the very places we hear Christ’s invitation to a deeper relationship, within the cry of the poor, we experience the joy of the encounter, the joy of the Gospel.”
It was the pope’s natural and genuine love for all God’s children that struck Father Heisler.
“His confident assurance, humble boldness and childlike trust as he encouraged us to enter the places where this conversation could and should occur in the style of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Father Joseph M. Rampino, who is studying at The Catholic University of America in Washington with residence at Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria, recalled an unforgettable moment in 2016 with Pope Francis while studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
“I had the opportunity to serve the papal liturgies of the Paschal Triduum, specifically, the Good Friday liturgy and the Easter Vigil,” he said. “I sang the high voice part during the recitation of the Lord’s Passion, then served as the deacon of the Paschal candle at the vigil.
“Those liturgies left me lifelong memories — washing the pope’s hands before Mass, holding the candle as he prepared it at the beginning of the vigil, offering the Easter fire to the pope at the beginning of the procession, leading him into St. Peter’s Basilica, announcing the triumph of Christ’s unconquered life to the whole church gathered there with the Holy Father.”
Msgr. Robert C. Cilinski, pastor of Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, said that the pope’s “warmth, humility and vision has inspired and captivated the world.”
Pope Francis “reminded us that just as St. Joseph protected the Holy Family, we should be protectors of life, starting with the baby in the womb where life begins, and then all life and creation — protecting the earth, our common home, was a main teaching of his papacy,” said Msgr. Cilinski.
“Pope Francis called us to be a church of the poor, caring for the most vulnerable members of society. His first trip outside of Rome was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the entry point of migrants to Europe, fleeing death and extreme poverty. Pope Francis put the last first, as Jesus taught us. He took the name of Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy and of the poor, and was the only pope to choose his name. He called us to be people of peace,” he said.
Msgr. Cilinski had a special message for those who grew up during the dozen-year pontificate of Pope Francis. “To our youth, Pope Francis has been your pope, the pope of your childhood and your teenage years,” he said. “For me it was Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. They inspired me as Pope Francis inspires you. Every pope of my lifetime has been a gift. We entrust Pope Francis to God — God’s gift to us, with praise and thanksgiving.”
Jenna Drummond, a parishioner of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, traveled to Rome for the Triduum. Easter Sunday, she was shocked when Pope Francis made an appearance to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“My friend and I were crying when we saw him on the balcony,” Drummond said, “to know he just wanted to see everyone one last time.”
