🕊️ Intro – The Shepherd I Didn’t Expect to Admire

I’m not Catholic. I wasn’t raised going to Mass. But Pope Francis was — hands down — my favorite pope. Maybe my favorite public figure, full stop. And when news broke of his passing at age 88, it hit me harder than I expected.

It’s not just because he was a kind man (he was). Or that he radiated humility (also true). It’s that he felt like a real person in a role that often feels wrapped in ritual and distance. Francis made the Vatican feel less like a marble museum and more like a place that cared.

And as I look back, I realize: he also quietly became one of the most tech-aware religious leaders we’ve ever seen. No, he didn’t code. But he understood the power of digital life — and tried to guide it with something rarer than data: discernment.

📚 Backstory – From Buenos Aires to the Balcony

Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936. He trained as a chemist, worked as a bouncer, and lost part of a lung to illness before joining the Jesuit order — known for its intellectual rigor and commitment to the poor.

He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and quickly gained a reputation: taking the bus instead of a limo, living in a small apartment instead of a palace, and visiting slums more often than photo ops. He washed the feet of AIDS patients, defended migrants, and cooked his own dinner.

In 2013, after the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected pope. He chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the poor and the environment — a move that said everything.

When he stepped out onto that rainy balcony in St. Peter’s Square and simply said “Buona sera” (Good evening), he was already breaking tradition. That tone — simple, disarming, and unafraid — would define the rest of his papacy.

📱 Core Tech Moments – The Shepherd Goes Digital

💾 1. The First Millennial Saint

One of Francis’s biggest nods to the digital generation came when he beatified Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old who built a website documenting Eucharistic miracles. Carlo died of leukemia in 2006, but his online faith project lived on — and Francis helped elevate him to near-sainthood.

It wasn’t a gimmick. It was a genuine message: holiness doesn’t need to wear robes — sometimes, it wears a hoodie and loves JavaScript.

🧠 2. Rome Calls for Ethical AI

In 2020, the Vatican launched the Rome Call for AI Ethics, partnering with Microsoft and IBM. The goal? Make sure artificial intelligence serves humanity, not just profit.

Francis worried about algorithms that amplified bias, AI systems without accountability, and “machines that process everything except love.” He brought Silicon Valley CEOs to the table — and asked the hard questions their investors wouldn’t.

Blessed are the ethical coders, for they shall inherit cleaner data sets.

📡 3. A Pope Who Actually Understood the Internet

He wasn’t on TikTok, but Francis “got” it. He warned about online echo chambers before it was cool, called out digital addiction, and emphasized the need for “slow, thoughtful communication” in the age of scroll fatigue.

His 2021 message for World Communications Day said it best: “Let us not lose the desire to touch with our hands the flesh of those who suffer.” In other words: don’t just double-tap the problem — show up for people in real life.

🌍 Beyond Tech – A Pope Who Walked the Talk

🌱 A Green Encyclical That Changed the Game

In 2015, Francis published Laudato Si’, a letter to the world calling for environmental care. He named climate change a moral issue, criticized consumerism, and warned that “the earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.”

This wasn’t just a recycling PSA. It was a full-blown call to repentance — directed at governments, corporations, and yes, even the Church.

Let there be light — but powered by renewables.

🚶‍♂️ A Pope on Foot (and in the Streets)

He refused to live in the traditional papal palace. He drove a Ford Focus. He snuck out of the Vatican at night to hand out food to the homeless. During Holy Week, he washed the feet of refugees, prisoners, and even Muslim and atheist men and women.

Francis believed in presence. In a world of brands and platforms, he was a leader who showed up — literally and figuratively.

🌍 Building Bridges Between Faiths

From praying with imams in Abu Dhabi to deepening ties with the Jewish community and even extending rare olive branches to the LGBTQ+ community, Francis was always pushing for dialogue. It wasn’t always enough, and not everyone agreed with his pace — but he consistently chose the path of peace.

Blessed are the bridge-builders, for they shall cancel fewer people.

🧮 Trevor Score: 10/10 — For a Wonderful Man Who Walked the Talk

This isn’t a formal review — it’s just how I felt reflecting on his impact. A gut-check from someone who never went to Catholic school, never had a pope on their radar, and never expected to feel this much when he died.

But Pope Francis felt like a rare kind of leader: not out for power or followers, but genuinely trying to make people better — and make systems kinder. He didn’t just bless the Church. He blessed the conversation.

And he did it all while smiling like your kind grandpa, gently calling out corruption, and maybe, just maybe, emailing the Holy Spirit on dial-up.

🧭 Final Verdict – A Shepherd for a Noisy, Hurting World

Francis was never flashy. He didn’t perform for applause. But he reshaped the Church — and the world — with quiet consistency. Whether it was defending migrants, speaking out against war, supporting COVID-19 vaccines, or encouraging interfaith friendships, he kept pushing toward compassion.

He wasn’t perfect. No one in the Bible was either — and that’s the whole point. But he made holiness feel like something humans could still reach for. Even in an age of smartphones and polarization.

🙏 Closing Line – May the Wi-Fi in Heaven Be Strong

Thank you, Francis. You didn’t need trending hashtags to lead. You didn’t need an app to reach hearts. You just kept showing up — with hope, with grace, and with the kind of love that can’t be quantified.

You logged off in peace. But your signal is still strong.

And for me? That’s the gospel truth.