What Comes Next for the Catholic Church?
By Laia Fernandez-Areste | Culture | May 8, 2025
Cover Illustration: Mourners watch quietly from behind barriers during the funeral of Pope Francis. April 26, 2025. Sofia Mestanza Waldron
The passing of Pope Francis marks the end of a significant chapter in the history of the Catholic Church. As the world mourns, the Vatican prepares for the centuries-old conclave to elect his successor.
On Easter Monday, a day traditionally marked by reflection, renewal and the quiet after resurrection, the Catholic Church was met instead with mourning. Pope Francis, who led the Church for over a decade with a message of mercy and reform, died early that morning, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. His death resulted from a long respiratory illness and came just hours after his surprise appearance during Easter Sunday service, a final gesture of resilience from a pope who never stopped showing up.
Born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became pope in the year 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI – the first resignation in nearly 600 years. His papacy ushered in a new tone for the Vatican, with Pope Francis emphasizing humility, outreach to the poor and a less dogmatic stance on some long-standing doctrinal issues. The first pontiff from the Americas and a champion of reform within the Roman Catholic Church, Francis balanced pastoral warmth with efforts to reorient the Church toward issues of social justice and inclusion.
“The People’s Pope,” as he was often called, spent his papacy striving to bring the Church closer to the poor, the marginalized and those who felt left behind. He was also known for taking bold stances on issues such as climate change, corporate greed and the tragic ongoing wars. Yet, his papacy was not without controversy, as traditionalist factions resisted his more progressive tone on LGBTQ issues. Some internal power struggles between Vatican departments occasionally came out into public view, reflecting the deep tensions over the Church’s direction.
With his death comes a period of both mourning and transition. The College of Cardinals (the church’s most senior members and the acting head of the Church) has been called to Rome for a conclave, the secretive process of electing the next pope. Earlier last week the Vatican announced the conclave will start on May 7 and only those under age 80 are eligible to vote; of the church’s 252 cardinals, 135 will serve as electors.
Observers expect a dynamic and potentially controversial conclave, as cardinals weigh the future course of the Church. While some may push for continuity with Francis’ reforms, others prefer a return to more conservative leadership.
Among potential successors are Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State known for his diplomatic skill and Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, an Italian cardinal who was appointed by Francis in 2019 and is closely aligned with the late pope’s social agenda. Outside of Europe, a potential successor is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, who has been widely talked about in the media in the past weeks, being considered Francis’s preferred successor and a strong contender to continue his progressive agenda.
The selection will take place in the Sistine Chapel, following centuries of tradition. Until then, both the Church and the world await the decision of who is to lead and transform one of the world’s oldest institutions.
In the wake of his death, the Vatican published the preface written by the Pope, two months before his passing, for the book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, titled “Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age.” In it, Pope Francis reflects on mortality, writing not with fear but with belief. He says, “It is precisely the conclusion of these pages (…) that give us consoling certainty: death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something.” Death, he insists, is not a closing but the beginning of what believers have already begun to live on earth: the start to eternal life.
Laia Fernandez-Areste is a university student in Amsterdam. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Amsterdammer.
