In light of the personal nature of these reflections on the legacy of Pope Francis, this content is open access.

With deep sorrow and heartfelt grief, I have received the news of the death of Pope Francis. He was a sincere voice of wisdom, compassion, courage and acceptance of his fellow brothers in humanity. He played an unforgettable role in resuming dialogue with Al-Azhar after it was suspended for many years. As a general coordinator of the Al-Azhar Center for Interfaith Dialogue, I was an eyewitness to the efforts exerted by the Pope to build bridges of mutual understanding, foster interfaith harmony, and develop strong relations with people of different religions. On Feb. 8, 2015, I participated in a high-level meeting in Jordan representing the Grand Imam Prof. Ahmed al-Tayyeb. The meeting was under the auspices of King Abdullah and Prince Charles. Cardinal Touran was present and he asked me to convey a message from the Pope to the Grand Imam in which he expressed his sorrow for the cease of dialogue between the two great institutions al-Azhar and the Vatican. Dialogue was resumed in 2016 and it was crowned with an everlasting friendship between the two symbols of Islam and Christianity: Francis and al-Tayyeb.

Throughout his tenure as the Bishop of Rome, he defended the oppressed. In some of his last public comments, he called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We are deeply sorry for the loss of a great man who spent his life in search of common ground and work to spread his message of peace and love to build bridges of mutual understanding and promote interfaith dialogue. My sincere condolences to the Catholic Church and to all wise people who aspire to live in peace, love, and tranquility.

Dr. Kamal Buraiqa Abdelsalam Hassan

General Coordinator - Al-Azhar Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue

Assistant Professor - International Islamic University - Islamabad and Al-Azhar University 

He was truly an exceptional, holy man--appreciated, loved, and respected by all: non-Christians, non-Catholics, and Muslims alike. He was a reformist and did his best to overcome the customary social & political isolation of most men of religion by addressing current issues and problems of the world. May God reward him for his good deeds and kind intentions.

Dr. Omaima Abu Bakr 

Professor of Comparative Literature 

Cairo University

As we mourn the death of Pope Francis, we are grateful to the core of our being for his papacy and for his church and global leadership. He embraced the title “Bishop of Rome” not a moment too soon, when the Catholic Church was in serious need of a reversal of priorities, and learned wisely and humbly over these twelve years how to restore the needed reforms and initiatives of Vatican II for a more synodal church. In addition, he adeptly provided unparalleled worldwide leadership for humanity in need of hope, solace and encouragement during these difficult times of wars, pandemic, and climate change and the human suffering affected by these. He brought joy and trust to ecumenical and interreligious relationships by emphasizing friendship and re-envisioning dialogue as accompaniment. His achievements give us confidence to pray that the next pope will lead with the same humility and openness for dialogue and engagement that Pope Francis witnessed to the world and that his example of living simply but generously, giving priority to the poor and those in serious need, will continue among all Christian faithful, their ordained leadership and all who honor his memory.

Dr. John Borelli

Special Assistant to the President

Senior Research Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Georgetown University

Pope Francis was humble and sought to live a simple life. I remember when he came to Cairo in 2017 in his small blue Fiat and refused to ride in a bullet-proof black Mercedes. He was a voice for the poor and the marginalized. He was also a man of peace. He continuously pushed for the cessation of wars in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine. In 2019, he invited South Sudanese leaders for a prayer meeting and during that meeting he knelt down and kissed their feet and pleaded with them to stop the war. He was very keen on Christian unity and dialogue. During his 2017 visit to Cairo, he convened an ecumenical prayer meeting which I was privileged to attend. In 2019, he signed the groundbreaking Document on Human Fraternity with the Grand Imam. Pope Francis made a significant impact for the good of the world. He will be greatly missed by many here in Egypt and all over the world. 

Dr. Mouneer Anis

Archbishop Emeritus 

Anglican-Episcopal Province of Alexandria

At the al-Azhar International Peace Conference in 2017, I watched His Holiness Pope Francis closely as he spoke at the conference center. My attention was drawn towards the calm and serenity he displayed. I am convinced that what is apparent on the outside reflects what is inside a person, and that every word reflects the heart from which it is uttered. This speaks volumes about the peace and love for the good that filled this man's heart. How could it be otherwise? As he said, "God is with a person who seeks peace." His words were a true reflection of his beliefs and convictions. His actions, therefore, became a tangible reality in the service of humanity, advocating for the weak, supporting dialogue, and spreading peace. Humanity has truly lost a dedicated human being, passionate about spreading what he believed in, striving to achieve it to the best of his ability, declaring his rejection of injustice and aggression and his renunciation of fanaticism and violence in the name of God.

Dr. Azza Ramadan

Assistant Professor of Theology

Al-Azhar University

One could accurately describe Pope Francis as the ‘pope of dialogue,’ for his tireless promotion of new avenues of dialogue within the Church and for his keen attention to the importance of interreligious relations for the health of the world. His two most significant encyclicals highlighted interfaith themes in this regard: in 2015’s Laudato si’, he argued that the sources of different religious traditions equip believers who enter into dialogue together to care for our common home, and in 2020’s Fratelli tutti, he observed that the different religions contribute significantly to building a sense of universal fraternity, friendship between peoples, and the defense of justice. Two interreligious friendships were particularly important for him: a deep bond with Rabbi Abraham Skorka from their time in Buenos Aires, and a tie to the Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb that developed during his time in Rome. Pope Francis and the Grand Imam co-authored the Document on Human Fraternity in 2019, one of the most important interreligious initiatives in recent years. But the pope may be remembered best for touching interreligious moments during his many travels as pontiff, from his meeting with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in 2021 to his tender encounter with a group of youth from various religions in Singapore in 2024. These moments reveal the Jesuit instincts of the pope, to ‘find God in all things.’

Dr. Jason Welle 

Assistant Professor of Comparative Theology

Boston College