Honoring the legacy of Pope Francis

Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 due to stroke and cardiocirculatory collapse after a recent battle with pneumonia, had long served as an inspiration to the Unbound community and people of goodwill across the globe for championing the dignity of all people and forming personal relationships with people living in poverty.

“Unbound joins the world in grieving the loss of a faithful, compassionate leader and an empathetic guiding light,” said Ashley Hufft, Unbound President and CEO “We must continue to follow his lead and honor his legacy by truly seeing the dignity of all people and opening our arms and hearts to those who struggle with poverty.”

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in December of 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis was the first Jesuit pope and the first to hail from the Americas. He was elected to the papacy in March of 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Over the course of his tenure, Pope Francis became most known for his faithfulness, humility and immense empathy.

Statement from Unbound

It is with great sorrow that Unbound offers up our prayers and condolences as we mourn the profound loss of Pope Francis, a beloved Church and world leader and a friend to the elders and families Unbound serves and all who live in poverty around the world. Throughout his papacy, which began in March 2013, Pope Francis has been a beacon of light and hope for the global Catholic community and especially for individuals and families struggling with poverty. He has also been an inspiration to organizations and generous people working toward eradicating poverty.

The Holy Father’s founding of World Day of the Poor and his messages highlighting the importance of forming personal relationships with people living in poverty have been important for our work at Unbound. We were honored to contribute to his 2018 book "Sharing the Wisdom of Time," Pope Francis' call to younger generations to recognize elders as reservoirs of wisdom and historical memory.

Twenty-three sponsored elders and one staff member were featured in the 178-page book that inspired the 2021 Netflix docuseries, “Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis.” Some of our Unbound team members were able to personally meet with Pope Francis in a small gathering for the book launch, and they will treasure that experience always.

His Holiness Pope Francis led with dignity and compassion and will be remembered for his humility and strength and his belief that “the poor hold a privileged place in God’s heart.”

As Pope Francis said in his last World Day of the Poor homily: “We are called in every circumstance to be friends of the poor, following in the footsteps of Jesus who always began by showing solidarity when dealing with the least among us. May the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, who appeared at Banneux and left a message not to be forgotten: ‘I am the Virgin of the poor,’ sustain us on this journey. To Mary, whom God has looked upon with favor for her humble poverty, accomplishing great things through her obedience, we entrust our prayers, convinced that they will rise to heaven and be heard.”

Pope Francis remembered for connecting generations

Unbound Regional Project Director Monica Gomez lives in Colombia and was among a small group that traveled to Rome in 2018 to represent Unbound at the launch of “Sharing the Wisdom of Time.”

“Pope Francis was a great leader whom I loved and admired,” Gomez said. “I join the Unbound community in praying for him. Many good memories have come to mind of our adventure in Rome with the launch of the book and the profound words and reflections Pope Francis offered us on respect, love and care for the elderly,” she said.

Gomez also recalled a quote from Pope Francis that has inspired her: “The elders have wisdom,” the pope said. “They are entrusted with great responsibility: to transmit their life experience, their family history, the history of a community, of a people."

Tim Deveney, Unbound’s senior director of outreach who works very closely with our preacher team, also recognizes the Pope’s passing as a profound loss.

“Pope Francis' lifetime example of being for and with the poor has been an inspiration to all of us at Unbound,” Deveney said. “Early on in his papacy he told a group of journalists ‘how I would like a church that is poor and for the poor.’ Throughout his life he placed himself with people struggling in poverty, modeling how to follow Jesus, and exemplifying all that the Unbound community strives toward. He will be deeply missed, and we are grateful for his life, his witness and his calling to live for and with others, especially the most vulnerable.”

The Unbound community also drew inspiration from Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to the Philippines. Sponsored children and youth, parents, staff and volunteers from Unbound programs in the Philippines participated in events including the final Mass in Manila, which was attended by an estimated 6-7million people. Unbound members also held a solidarity walk prior to the Mass to honor Pope Francis and show their commitment to act upon the visit’s theme of “Mercy and Compassion.”