As the conclave approaches, old debates resurface: progressives or traditionalists?
Pope Francis' legacy is rooted in Marian mission and the peripheries.
His final wish—to be buried in Saint Mary Major—reveals the heart of his theology.
Beyond power struggles, it is Christ’s love that guides the choice of the new pope.
The conclave unfolds under the Easter light of a Church in continuous conversion.
As the next conclave approaches, old debates resurface: who will prevail this time, the progressives or the traditionalists? What role will women play in this decision so crucial for the future of the Church? Will the next pontiff continue Pope Francis' reforms?
Francis' legacy could perhaps be summed up through the fulfillment of one of his last wishes: to be buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. It was in this Roman church that the Holy Father would entrust his journeys and, at the end of each one, give thanks and intercede for the mission. If his burial is in line with this same perspective, it also reveals the heart of his theology and his pastoral vision. Neither traditionalist nor progressive, this gesture stems from God's Covenant with his people, from Christ with the Church. In the Ignatian tradition, this Covenant is particularly expressed in the passage from the third to the fourth week of the Spiritual Exercises: the Lord’s body was handed over to his sorrowful mother, laid in the tomb before appearing to the Virgin Mary, to the other women, and then to the disciples.
I A Marian vision of mission
Pope Francis' missionary vision is indeed rooted in the kerygma, in the death and resurrection of Christ. It expresses the eternal generation of the Son by the Father, even unto death. This generation is lived at the heart of our humanity through the intercession of the Mother of Jesus. This is why, in Francis' eyes, the heart of the Church is on the peripheries, where humanity is tested by evil, injustice, suffering, and death. It is through the peripheries that she will be reborn. By entrusting himself completely to the Mother of God, the Holy Father shows us the way forward. She who appeared to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception is the sign of salvation given to all mankind. Our mission is to be witnesses of this salvation granted to all. In doing so, Pope Francis is fully in line with the Tradition that precedes him and which is alive only because it is reborn at every moment of eternal life, through those who, following the Virgin Mary, precede us in the Kingdom: the poor and the little ones.
The conclave is part of this Easter light. The Gospel according to St. John can undoubtedly enlighten us on what is at stake.
II From Mary Magdalene to Peter
Before appearing to the disciples, the Risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalene and sends her on mission: “Go and tell my brothers that I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17). This mission is decisive for the life of the Church and echoes that of the mother of Jesus at the cross and with the beloved disciple. By loving and following Jesus to the end—that is, to the heart of all the peripheries—Our Lady and then Mary Magdalene bear witness to the offering of the Son to the Father and, by the same token, to the gift of the Father and the Son to the apostles, to the Church, which is the Holy Spirit. It is in the light of this Holy Spirit that the cardinals are called to live the conclave.
When the Risen Jesus appears to the disciples in Galilee, he guides them in their fishing and shares a meal with them. Then he appears face-to-face with the apostle Peter just before entrusting him with the mission of shepherding the Church. The only question Jesus asked Peter was an invitation: “Do you love me?” It was by surrendering himself to the Holy Spirit that Peter could respond to the Lord’s call.
The general congregations of cardinals that precede the conclave address the life of the Church and its relationship with the world. It is a matter of listening to the groaning of the Holy Spirit in creation and throughout the peripheries. The cardinals are thus once again confronted with this question that springs from the heart of the Church and humanity: “Do you love me?”
All the faithful accompany the conclave, for it is through the presence of the Virgin at the cross, through the mission of Mary Magdalene, through the prayer of all the members of the Church, especially those who suffer the most, that the cardinals will elect the next pope. It is also through the intercession of the whole Church that the successor of Peter will be able to accept his mission.
III The conclave: the Church in paschal generation
The Synod on Synodality has opened up a beautiful space for continuing to reflect on the mission of every baptized person. More than a question of “reform” of structures, it is still a matter of rediscovering the mystery of birth inherent in the mission and tradition of the Church. It is essential to avoid assigning “roles” according to extrinsic models, politically or sociologically balanced, at the risk of promoting power games incompatible with the Gospel.
The mission of the next pope, like that of each one of us, can only be the expression of a growing communion. For it can only be understood in the light of the mystery of the Church, of that Love of God which reaches out to each one of us and reveals to us the path of conversion that we must follow. It is therefore on this path of conversion that we journey together towards the conclave: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” (Jn 21:17).
Marie-Laetitia Calmeyn +