2025 -- H 6264

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF POPE FRANCIS

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Azzinaro,
Costantino, Corvese, Edwards, O'Brien, Ajello, and Fellela

     Date Introduced: April 24, 2025

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness that this House of Representatives of the State of

Rhode Island has learned of the passing of Pope Francis, a man of great love and compassion for

all, especially those living on the margins of humanity. Pope Francis was a great man who served

the Catholic Church and all of humanity with unwavering passion, humility and grace as Pope

from March 13, 2013 to April 21, 2025; and

     WHEREAS, Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires,

Argentina, the eldest of five children to Mario José Bergoglio and Maria Sivori. Pope Francis

graduated from the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N° 27, Hipólito

Yrigoyen, where he received a chemical technician's diploma. Pope Francis then proceeded to

work for several years at the Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory. Prior to holding this position, he

had worked as a bouncer and a janitor; and

     WHEREAS, Pope Francis was inspired to become a Jesuit Priest in 1958 after recovering

from life-threatening pneumonia. He had developed three cysts and had to have part of his lung

removed. He began his studies at the Archdiocesan Seminary in Buenos Aires, and after three

years, he entered the Society of Jesus as a novice. He continued his studies in Santiago, Chile,

and officially became a Jesuit in 1960, taking his initial, perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and

obedience; and

     WHEREAS, In 1960, Pope Francis obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio

Máximo de San José. He then taught literature at a Catholic High School in Santa Fe, Argentina,

and at a College in Buenos Aires. Pope Francis began his theological studies at Facultades de

Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel. On December 13, 1969, Pope Francis was ordained by

Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. From 1969 to 1992, Pope Francis's duties included serving

as the Master of Novices for the Province, teaching as a professor of theology, and served as the

Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina for six years; and

     WHEREAS, In 1992, Pope Francis was selected to serve as the Auxiliary Bishop of

Buenos Aires and was consecrated as the Titular Bishop of Auca, where he chose as his

Episcopal Motto, from Saint Bede's homily on Matthew, "Because he saw him through the eyes

of mercy and chose him"; and

     WHEREAS, In 1997, Pope Francis was appointed to serve as the Coadjutor Archbishop

of Buenos Aires and was named the Metropolitan Archbishop in 1998. Among his many major

reform initiatives was his plan to increase the presence of the church in the villa miseria, or slums

of Buenos Aires. Under his leadership, the number of priests assigned to work in these areas

doubled, and Pope Francis visited these impoverished areas himself. His unyielding concern and

compassion for the least of them earned him the nickname, the "slum bishop". He was also

known for his regularly celebrating the Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual in jails, hospitals,

retirement homes and slums, and for his opposition to the military dictatorship in Argentina in the

1970s; and

     WHEREAS, In 2001, Pope Francis was appointed to the position of Cardinal by Pope

John Paul II. As a Cardinal, Pope Francis developed a reputation for a deep commitment to social

justice and for his personal humility. He maintained a simple lifestyle which included living in a

small apartment, using public transportation, cooking his own meals and spending most of his

time in Argentina as opposed to Rome; and

     WHEREAS, Pope Francis was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, and became both the

first Jesuit Pope and the first Pope from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere. Pope Francis

was known for his less formal style while serving as Pope. On the night of his election, he took

the bus back to the hotel with the Cardinals rather than being driven in the Papal car, and the very

next day he visited an ill Cardinal in the hospital and chatted with patients and hospital staff. He

also chose not to live in the official Papal residence, but rather in the Domus Sanctae Marthae

guest house; and

     WHEREAS, Pope Francis was regularly praised for his great accessibility to people and

for having a great common touch and ability to communicate effectively with people, which

included his ability to speak fluent Spanish, Italian and German, and being conversant in French,

Portuguese, Latin, and English; and

     WHEREAS, One of his first acts as Pope occurred on Holy Thursday when he chose to

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wash the feet of ten male and two female juvenile prisoners, two of which were Muslim. This

ceremony was the first time that a Pope had included women in this ritual. As Pope, Francis

repeatedly spoke in favor of protecting the environment, assisting and protecting the poor and the

least amongst us, and urged nations to pursue peace and avoid conflict. Pope Francis also

prioritized ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, opposed abortion and the death penalty,

denounced the criminalization of homosexuality and increased the Catholic Church's outreach to

the LGBTQ community; and

     WHEREAS, Pope Francis received much praise and many accolades across a global

spectrum in support of his papacy, which included being named the "Person of the Year" by Time

Magazine in 2013, and named by Fortune Magazine as number one on its list of the world's 50

greatest leaders. A street in La Plata, Argentina was named after him, and he was the first Pope to

create an Instagram account. The creation of his Instagram account was widely successful,

breaking records when it gained over one million followers in under 12 hours of the account

being created. On November 26, 2020, Pope Francis became the first Pope to write an op-ed for

the New York Times; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Pope Francis; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and

the Vatican.

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