Pope Francis, a friend to Jews with conflicted views on Israel dead aged 88

Pope Francis is presented with a Menorah in Jerusalem, May 26, 2014 (Credit: Haim Zach - GPO /Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, Francis was the first pope from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere and the first born or raised outside Europe in 1200 years.

Known for his humility, liberalism, commitment to social justice and environmental causes, Pope Francis’s progressive and inclusive papacy was a transformative era for the Catholic Church.

Under his vision, the Church attempted to address many of its long-standing issues, which included reformation of the clergy, becoming comparatively more welcoming towards LGBT people, and putting an end to the sex abuse scandals that had rocked it for many years.

Francis also addressed issues of global concern, highlighting the plight of migrants and refugees while calling for an end to conflicts around the world such as those in South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and the Middle East.

His papacy was marked by a concerted effort to strengthen interreligious dialogue and foster better relations between Catholics and people of other faiths.

To the Jewish people, the pontiff was widely seen as a friend, although his views on Israel were complex, particularly in the last years of his life during the Israel-Hamas war.

Under his leadership, the Church made ongoing efforts to uphold the principles of Nostra Aetate, which calls for mutual respect and dialogue between Christians and Jews, and to combat antisemitism and anti-Judaism, which last year he described as a “sin against God”.

  

Writing to “my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel” just four months after October 7, he referred to Jewish people as “the ancient people of the covenant” and “unequivocally” condemned manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism.

In 2016, Francis carried out a significant gesture of solidarity with the Jewish world by praying at Rome’s Great Synagogue alongside Italy’s Jewish community, and in the same visit, paid homage to the Holocaust survivors present at the ceremony.

Pope Francis exchanges gifts with leaders and members of Rome's Jewish community during his visit to the Rome's Great Synagogue, January 17, 2016 (Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

In the same year, the pontiff made a historic visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the Nazi death camp wherein more than one million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

Francis spent most of the visit in silent reflectionion but, in the camp’s guestbook, wrote, “Lord, have mercy on your people! Lord, forgiveness for so much cruelty!”

He also met with survivors of the camp, including Marian Turski who died just a few weeks ago, on February 18.

Pope Francis walks through the entrance of the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz (Credit: JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

When Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis had a rare private audience with Francis in 2015, during a trip to the Vatican ahead of the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (the 1965 declaration on the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions), it was Mrs Mirvis’s homemade florentines that grabbed the His Holiness’s attention. Before the pope departed the rabbinic party, he reportedly approached her to enquire how he should keep her homedmade Florentines fresh.

Valerie Mirvis presents the pope with her homemade florentines (Credit: Chief Rabbi Office)[Missing Credit]

During their meeting, Chief Rabbi Mirvis and Francis together spoke about contemporary issues including the refugee crisis, and the chief rabbi thanked him for his leadership in addressing contemporary issues of the time.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis explaining to Pope Francis the symbolism of apple and honey for Jews at Rosh Hashana (Credit: Chief Rabbi Office)[Missing Credit]

The chief rabbi presented the pope with a gift of a traditional silver apple and honey dish for Rosh Hashanah, telling him: “Whereas the apple is perishable, the honey will always keep. May that combination of the ‘timeless’ and the ‘timely’ be a blessing for us all.”

Rabbi Mirvis paid tribute to the Pope today: "I join numerous people across the world in marking the passing of Pope Francis. I know this is a moment of great sadness for our Catholic friends and my thoughts are with them during this time of mourning, as they reflect on his leadership and prepare for transition. May all those who are grieving find comfort and strength in the coming weeks, as the Catholic Church begins a new chapter.”

The President of the Board of Deputies, Phil Rosenberg, also sent his condolences: “May he rest in peace. We at the Board of Deputies send our condolences to Catholics here in the UK and around the World.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompany Pope Francis as he visits the memorial monument commemorating victims of terrorist acts on Mount Herzl, May 26, 2014 (Credit: Avi Ohayon - GPO /Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

Just one year into his papacy, in 2014, Francis visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, offering symbolic gestures of goodwill to both sides of the decades-long conflict. Whilst in the Jewish State, he visited Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust museum, the grave of Theodor Herzl, the “father” of modern Zionism, and the Western Wall.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited him to visit the Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and, upon the invitation of Palestinian authorities during the same visit, Francis also visited sites in the West bank, including a section of the Israel-West Bank barrier at which he prayed.

Pope Francis shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he departs at Ben Gurion International Airport, May 26, 2014 (Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO via Getty Images)Getty Images

 

He notably invited Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to a prayer summit at the Vatican in the same year, where both leaders committed themselves to the pursuit of peace in the Middle East.

Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomes Pope Francis at the President's Residence, May 26, 2014 (Credit: Mark Neyman/GPO via Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

 

In May 2015, on the occasion of the canonisation of two Palestinian nuns, he welcomed Abbas to the Vatican and in the same month, Vatican City signed a treaty with the State of Palestine. The Vatican formally recognised Palestinian statehood in February 2013, three months before Francis became pope.

Last year, in the unveiling of a nativity scene gifted to the Vatican, the Church and pope drew criticism internationally from both Catholic and Jewish groups for having a keffiyeh, the Palestinian traditional scarf that is associated with resistance, draped across baby Jesus’s cradle. The Vatican later expressed regret over the controversial incident and issued an apology, removing the keffiyeh.

Pope Francis meeting with the family members of Israeli abducted by Hamas at the Vatican, November 22, 2023 (Credit: DIVISIONE PRODUZIONE FOTOGRAFICA/VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

In the aftermath of the October 7 atrocity, Francis condemned the Hamas-led attack as an “atrocious” act of terror and wrote that he is “following apprehensively and sorrowfully what is happening in Israel.” He defended, a few days later, the “right of those who are attacked to defend themselves,” but expressed concern about the “total siege under which the Palestinians are living in Gaza.”

He called then and throughout the war for an immediate ceasefire and for the hostages in Gaza to be released. He invited several families of hostages to the Vatican to meet with him.

Pope Francis greets leaders and members of Italy's Jewish community during his visit to the Rome's Great Synagogue, January 17, 2016 (Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

But he also strongly criticised Israel’s tactics in rooting out Hamas from the Gaza Strip, saying that “terror should not justify terror”, and described Israel’s airstrikes as “cruelty… not war.”

Francis drew harsh rebuke from the Israeli government for the statement, which the Israeli Foreign Ministry said was “particularly disappointing” due to being “disconnected” from context and “ignoring the fact that Hamas employs the use of human shields.

On the one-year anniversary of October 7, in 2024, Francis called on Catholics around the world to join him for a day of prayer and fasting.

Pope Francis’s death will begin the ancient process known as the “Seda Vacante” (vacant seat), which will guide the Roman Catholic Church through the period of mourning ending in the election of a new pope.

In keeping with tradition, it is likely that Pope Francis’s body will be placed in St Peter’s basilica for public viewing so mourners can pay their respects. The period of mourning usually lasts for nine days, during which the Church’s cardinals will come together to pray and plan for the conclave.

Pope Francis places a prayer into the Western Wall, May 26, 2014 (Credit: Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)Getty Images

After this period, the funeral will take place, which historically has taken place in St Peter’s Square and is a major event, attended by thousands of pilgrims and by world leaders.

The conclave, held in complete secrecy within the Sistine Chapel, entails anonymous ballot voting by the College of Cardinals to elect from their ranks the next pope. Famously, the process will end in white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, marking a successful selection.