VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church’s largest-ever conclave begins Wednesday afternoon in the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinal-electors have gathered to decide who will succeed Pope Francis as Bishop of Rome.
In the United States, the African-American community is watching closely to see how the prelates will choose to handle Pope Francis’ legacy of diversity and inclusion, as well as his willingness to extend his ministry to the margins at a level never before seen in the age of mass media.
Dr. Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, told Black Catholic Messenger that Francis represented a new era of Vatican leadership that was self-effacing rather than self-referential.
“He came to teach, but he came to learn,” she said of the late pontiff, whose 12-year pontificate caused a sea change in perception of the papal office.
“He came to bless, and he came to be blessed. He understood that we are a community of faith, and that means that those in authority, those with extraordinary power in the Church, are really called to serve.”
Asked how Francis’ ministry intersected with African-American Catholics, Bellow described it as a phenomenon of attraction. The Argentinian-born pope, once known as the “Bishop of the Slums,” called believers and nonbelievers alike closer to the heart of the Church—while also inspiring faith informed by social justice.
His historic Synod on Synodality, which included a wide swath of non-ordained Catholics in the Synod of Bishops, featured two U.S. Black delegates. One of them, Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns, is a lay pastoral minister, while the other was Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington—who Francis named as the first African-American cardinal in 2020.
During her time in Rome, Manns actively promoted the sainthood cause of one of seven African Americans currently considered for canonization. That topic remains a sore spot for some Black Catholics who had hoped Francis would act more directly to move their causes forward.
“Part of our sadness in his death is that he left some important pieces undone,” said Bellow, who noted that African Americans have struggled when relying on the Church hierarchy for support.
“I really think that if he had been able to be more exposed to the history of African-American Catholics and their situation, the conversation would have been very interesting.”
Bellow emphasized, though, that the Francis papacy was predominantly characterized by connection with and action on behalf of the marginalized. This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Andrew Prevot, a professor of theology and religious studies at Georgetown University.
“The most important thing was one word and that's ‘mercy.’ That's what he took as his motto,” the Black Catholic academic said during a livestreamed event in Washington with the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life on Tuesday evening.
“One of the first things he said as pope was, ‘I am a sinner’… And this stunned people. ‘Why is the pope calling himself a sinner?’ Because we all are. But you don't stop there.”
Prevot noted that while some criticized Francis’ emphases as a sign of reduced authority or even intentional confusion, his actions proved his commitment to “what doctrine is supposed to be.”
“When people look at all of his pastoral practices, such as speaking to Gazan Christians or caring for migrants or visiting prisoners, that's his teaching in action.”
With all eyes now on Vatican City, where the next pope will be chosen likely in a matter of hours or days, one question looms large: Will the next pope continue his legacy, or upend it?
Also up in the air is whether cardinals will return to the long tradition of Italian popes in Rome—most recently seen in 1978—or continue the exploration of other possibilities, including Africa and the New World.
“You know, we have the experiences of the first Black Catholic priests in the United States, and they were not well received,” said Bellow, who said she would welcome a Black pope but that the larger world might not.
One important legacy of Pope Francis, however, is his willingness to acknowledge—and act to repair—the Catholic Church’s complicity in slavery and racism. Most notably, the Vatican under his leadership rescinded the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023, disavowing its participation in New World colonial violence.
Francis also appointed three of the first Black cardinals from the Western Hemisphere, who are now the first such electors in a papal conclave.
Nate Tinner-Williams
“The College of Cardinals is appointed to select the leader of the universal Church, so the more the Church is fully represented [therein], the better the next pope will be,” said Bellow.
“They will know that it's not just Europe that has endorsed them, but that it is a larger spectrum of the world.”
Africa and the diaspora notwithstanding, Prevot said he hopes the next Bishop of Rome will carry on the legacy of Francis with a refreshed focus on the forgotten.
“I hope that our next pope is not someone with a big ego. I want someone who's not interested in themselves,” he said.
“We're in a world where that's a temptation, and I think that as long as we have someone who's really centering their life on God and on the brokenhearted people of the world, I think we'll be all right.”
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
