Pope Francis' great legacy to the women of WUCWO

Thank you for your trust in us!

With deep sorrow, but also with a heart full of gratitude, the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) joins the whole world in prayer for the soul of our dear Pope Francis, who showed us so much love and appreciation throughout his pontificate. I still clearly remember the words he addressed to us at the private audience he gave to about 1500 women of our organisation in 2023. On that occasion he said: "And if we want to know what humanity is without woman, what man is without woman, we have it in the first page of the Bible: loneliness. Man without woman is alone. Humanity without woman is alone. A culture without women is lonely. Where there is no woman, there is loneliness, arid loneliness that breeds sadness and all manner of harm to humanity."

From the beginning of his pontificate, as Catholic women around the world, we felt that we were walking with someone who listened to us, understood us and valued us; with someone who realised the urgency of a living Church, incarnated, fraternal, close to the most marginalized and in which women could participate fully, according to our own gifts. A deeply evangelical man, he taught us that change begins with humble processes, with concrete gestures, with courageous decisions.

There is so much to say!

Francis taught us to walk with joy and humility, to care for the most vulnerable and to be a missionary Church on the move. A prophet of hope, he promoted an ‘open-door pastoral care’ to bring us all, without exception, closer to the mercy of the Father. He worked tirelessly for world peace, fraternity and the protection of our common home. He advocated for the care and protection of families and, of course, of human life. His closeness, his tenderness, his smile were signs of the Kingdom in the midst of a world often in turmoil.

Always consistent and open to change, he led the reform of the Church and brought a new air of hope inside and outside. His pontificate opened doors that have helped us discern what the Church needs to do to respond to today's needs and challenges, and how we women can collaborate, with our gifts, charisms and ministries, to participate fully and co-responsibly, together with the other members of the People of God, in the mission of bringing God's love to all, especially to those most in need.

A synodal, inclusive and missionary Church

Indeed, Francis opened the doors towards a synodal Church, more inclusive, more on the move. He reminded us that we all have to take an active role in our Church, and that we are all responsible. He helped us understand that external reforms are not enough, but that true conversion is pastoral, spiritual and missionary. WUCWO is confident that together we will succeed in building the synodal Church the Pope had dreamed of. Therefore, we have participated and will continue participating in the process of transformation through our “School for Synodality”.

The Holy Father put the focus on the peripheries, of which so many women in our organisations are part and which so many others support and accompany. He inspired us to found and consolidate the World Women's Observatory (WWO), to which he himself dedicated these words: ‘it will give you clues to identify the needs and thus be “Samaritans”, companions on the journey, bringing hope and serenity to hearts, helping, and making others help to alleviate so many bodily and spiritual needs of humanity’. And we are already doing so in Africa, with women victims of violence and discrimination, and in Latin America with migrant women....

He acknowledged and embraced women’s gifts

Francis recognised in women the capacity to generate new processes, to build bridges, to heal wounds. Our former president, María Lía Zervino, wrote to him in a letter: “It is a matter of serving the Church with the gifts that the Father Creator has given us: a particular intelligence and sensitivity, an affectivity and a particular capacity for the gestation and formation of persons and a special aptitude for the generation of relational goods”. Pope Francis was able to see and acknowledge these gifts, courageously opening the way for us.

Today we give thanks especially for his tireless work to promote, by word and by example, respect for the dignity of all women and to encourage our full participation in the Church and in society. How often we heard him affirm what we are worth and what we are capable of! I was blessed to listen to him in a small private audience where; to encourage us to be brave, he shared anecdotes of his work with women whom he deeply admired. How he showed us all the time his recognition, trust and appreciation, particularly with the high appointments of women he made in the Roman Curia and by allowing so many women to participate and vote, for the first time, in the Synod! We trust that his frequently expressed desire for women to be part of decision-making teams alongside men will no longer be considered an exception but commonplace in the Church.

Mourning that generates new life

These days we continue to mourn his departure, but we also renew the commitment he inspired in us. We know that the best way to honour his memory is to put his teachings into practice and to continue working, guided by the Holy Spirit and by his successor, for a renewed missionary synodal Church in which we all walk together; a Church with a feminine face that may be identified by its tenderness, closeness and mercy. We will go forward, walking together as People of God, encouraged by your example, your word and your trust in us.

We also pray now, with faith and hope, for his successor. We have full confidence that the Holy Spirit will enlighten him to follow the way of the Gospel and to guide the Church throughout the world, consolidating the changes that are required and enriching the Church with his own gifts and charisms in a new Pontificate.

Thank you, Pope Francis. Thank you for opening doors, for encouraging us to dream and to act. Thank you for trusting women, for appreciating us, for listening to us. We are more than 8 million women from the five continents who want to convey to you all our affection and gratitude.

WUCWO commends your soul to Mary, our Mother. May she, who guarded every step of Jesus' life, and to whom you entrusted your life and your priestly and episcopal ministry, now receive you in the peace of the Father. We will not forget to pray for you!

Rest in God, dear Pope Francis.

Mónica Santamarina

President General of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO)