Pope Francis passed away on Monday, April 21st, 2025, after having led the Easter celebration at the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) expresses its sadness and sorrow for the passing of Francis. IAMSCU echoes the statements issued by various churches and organizations, including the Waldensian and Methodist Church in Italy and the Methodist Church in Argentina, United Methodist Church, the Methodist Church in Britain, Uniting Church in Australia, Africa Methodist Council, World Methodist Council and the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome (MEOR) as well as the World Council of Churches and many other churches and organizations. IAMSCU joins them in mourning the passing of this great leader and celebrating his life and legacy.
During the funeral of Pope Francis, led by Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, he honored the life of Francis, who had chosen to be called as Bishop of Rome in order to recognize and affirm his symmetric relation to other Bishops in other Christian traditions and, thus, to promote greater opportunities for dialogue. Born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, in a family of Italian immigrants, he joined the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1958, worked as a teacher in Jesuit schools, and was ordained in 1969. He eventually was appointed Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Argentina, Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal, before being chosen as Pope after Benedict XVI. He became known in Argentina for his humility and was elected the first Latin American Pope. In the words of the Methodist Bishop in Argentina, Bishop Américo Jara Reyes, “his option for the poor” was a hallmark of his whole ministry and this was how he was known in his country. Adriana Murriello, President of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) and also from Argentina, expressed her condolences to the family and the church communities and recognized his ecumenical and interfaith impact, also in the field of education.
As a Jesuit, Pope Francis was directly involved in the educational ministry. This found expression in his Apostolic Constitution of 2017, Veritatis Gaudium: On Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties. His 2015 Encyclical, Laudato Si: On climate Change and Inequality published on May 24, 2015 – coincidently, John Wesley’s Day – has had a profound impact on environmental studies at many Methodist schools, colleges, seminaries, and universities. IAMSCU has had positive exchanges with the Roman Catholic Dicastery for Culture and Education as a result of Pope Francis’s openness to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, who also opened the possibility for exchanges with Catholic universities. IAMSCU joins many religious leaders and the people around the world who are mourning the passing of Pope Frances, celebrating his life and legacy, and recognizing his important impact on education for peace, human rights, and human dignity.