Pope Francis opened doors for women in the church. Will the next pope do the same? | Opinion
Pope Francis’ willingness to meet ordinary people means thousands like myself — I live in Miami — have unique stories of how the Holy Father touched our lives and strengthened our resolve to make a difference.
And now, as the world’s cardinals gather on Wednesday to begin the conclave and select the 267th pontiff, may they choose a pope who also continues to unlock the potential of women’s gifts for ministry.
I met Pope Francis in October 2021 when I flew from Miami to Rome for the opening Mass of the Synod on Synodality with colleagues and women ministering to rural communities in the Amazon.
We were surprised to receive front-row tickets to his weekday general audience after sending an email about a gift we hoped to give him.
As Pope Francis approached, he radiated joy. He was delighted to meet women from Canada, U.S., Brazil and Bolivia working together— exactly the bridge-building across the Americas the Synod aspired to encourage.
Speaking to him in Spanish, we expressed our commitment to grow synodal processes so more people could experience encounter, listening, dialogue and discernment about walking together in this third millennium.
Our gift was a framed image of St. Phoebe by African-Caribbean-American artist Laura James. St. Phoebe was a first-century deacon whom St. Paul entrusted to deliver his important letter to the Romans.
Sister Ciria Mees told Pope Francis about her pastoral work ministering to over 100 rural communities along Amazon rivers, representing her local bishop. The Holy Father held her hands, looked into her eyes and said, “¡Firme adelante!,” which in English means keep moving forward.
As women in ministry who persevere through many obstacles to respond to urgent pastoral needs in our communities, we received this as encouragement to continue our work.
Known as the “People’s Pope,” the pontiff made it his mission to bind up the wounded, lift the lowly and proclaim good news to the poor and the marginalized, just as Jesus did. He also saw himself as initiating processes and setting in motion paths of renewal that others would continue and fulfill.
In his final Easter message, Pope Francis expressed pain over the violence and division throughout our world and urged us to rekindle hopes for peace. He held war-torn communities in his heart — not as anonymous places, but as homes to families with faces, names, stories and dreams.
The Holy Father acknowledged women’s moral authority in peacemaking on World Peace Day 2024, saying: “The world needs to look to mothers and to women in order to find peace, to emerge from the spiral of violence and hatred, and once more see things with genuinely human eyes and hearts.”
Pope Francis significantly increased women’s participation in church leadership. He initiated a global three-year process of listening and dialogue called the Synod on Synodality to discuss how the church could move forward together.
It opened doors for women worldwide to participate in local, continental and global listening sessions. He made history by giving women voting rights in two global assemblies of bishops and church leaders who gathered in Rome in 2023 and 2024.
Although Pope Francis initially said “no” to women as deacons during an interview last year, he subsequently approved and incorporated into his official magisterial teaching the Synod’s concluding document, which stated that the question of women’s potential participation in diaconal ministry “remains open.”
At Discerning Deacons, which I co-direct, we believe that creating conditions for peace and recognizing women’s leadership gifts are inextricably linked. We participated in each stage of the Synod, organizing listening sessions in our local dioceses and building bridges across continents.
His words to us — ”Firme adelante” — kindled hope and strength to continue constructing pathways of synodal encounter, undeterred by setbacks.
Hidden in plain sight are a new generation of Mary Magdalenes, Phoebes, Clares and Frances Cabrinis — women of courage and commitment who stand ready to proclaim good news, create conditions for peace and defend God’s dream of a world where all can flourish.
Ellie Hidalgo is co-director of Discerning Deacons and is a parishioner at Our Lady of Divine Providence Churchi n Miami.