Cardinal Sean O’Malley delivered a lecture, part of the Bergoglio Lecture Series, at Sacred Heart University on Feb. 26 to an overflow crowd of students and faculty. Given his close collaboration with Pope Francis in the 12 years of this papacy — including 11 as one of the nine cardinals who the pope convened frequently as a council of advisers, the C9 — O’Malley’s lecture offered unique insights into the spiritual sources on which the pope has drawn, specifically the ways he embodies both the Franciscan and Ignatian traditions.
“We have a pope who defies all categories and seems to have melded the Jesuit and the Franciscan into one,” O’Malley said. “But I believe that Pope Francis is the quintessential Ignatian Jesuit, and that is the hermeneutical key to understanding him.”
O’Malley recalled that during his convalescence from wounds suffered in battle, Ignatius spent a good deal of time reading. “Because there were no books of chivalry like Quixote and Ignatius loved to read, they gave the patient Ludwig of Saxons’ Life of Christ and a florilegium of the lives of the saints. After devouring the books, Ignatius’ comment was: ‘I want to be a saint like St. Francis.’ ” So, when the cardinals elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 2013, it was not entirely surprising that he should take the name of Francis. “I believe that was a very deliberate act and a clear sign of the ideals that would inspire his pontificate,” O’Malley said.
This Franciscan influence was evident in a variety of ways. Two of Pope Francis’ encyclicals began with words from St. Francis: Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti.
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With thanks to America and Ken Stone, where this article originally appeared.
