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Father Joseph Costantino, S.J., pastor of St. Francis Xavier parish in Manhattan, didn’t mind eating his words. For weeks he’d been telling anyone who’d ask him that a Jesuit would never become pope.
Then it happened.
“I was shocked,” Father Costantino acknowledged to CNY. “I was actually on a conference call watching the (television coverage) for the announcement of the pope and when I heard ‘Francesco,’ I thought it was (Boston Archbishop Sean Cardinal) O’Malley. I figured they chose O’Malley (a Capuchin Franciscan) because who else would choose the name Francis? I never expected in a million years it would be the one Jesuit in the conclave!”
Shock, disbelief, exhilaration and even some barely restrained expressions of pride were the initial reactions of the Jesuits that Catholic New York talked to about the naming of a fellow Jesuit, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, as Pope Francis.
Since the order’s founding by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540, no Jesuit has ever acceded to the Chair of St. Peter, very few have become bishops and fewer have become cardinals. In fact, Jesuits have always been discouraged from seeking ecclesial advancement.
“It’s part of Jesuit heritage,” Father Costantino explained. “If the Holy Father asks you to become a bishop, you’re to write to him as a Jesuit and ask him to pick somebody else.”
Father William Bergen, S.J., parochial vicar of St. Ignatius Loyola parish, Manhattan, concurred. “It was a surprise that the other cardinals would elect a Jesuit,” he said. “He wasn’t mentioned among the contenders. I don’t know how that would have come about. I can’t image he would have aspired to that.”
Nevertheless, Father Bergen said he was “very pleased” and expressed his hope that the new pontiff would bring Jesuit spiritual discernment to his new position.
At Fordham University, Father Joseph McShane, S.J., the president, called the selection of Francis “stunning.” But he said the selection was probably based on criteria other than his membership in the Society of Jesus.
“I think it probably says very little about him being a Jesuit to be perfectly honest with you,” he said. “It had everything to do with the fact that he is from the Americas. He’s from Latin America, where 41to 42 percent of the world’s Catholics live. He’s been a bishop for 20 years. He’s well known among the South American bishops. He’s well known among the cardinals throughout the world. So I was think it was really more about recognizing that Latin America plays an increasingly important, indeed a pivotal role, in the life of the Church.
“Second, I think because they knew him, the cardinals knew that he was first and foremost a pastor. They wanted a pastoral pope. And third, I think they understand that he leads by example, his example of humility and poverty is captivating to them, and as we’ve seen since the election, captivating and somewhat perplexing to the world.”
Father McShane said the new pope’s Jesuit background and training would put him in good standing as he takes on leadership of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and that he has already drawn on it in the earliest days of his pontificate.
“He was a novice master. Then he was a provincial. Then he was a rector of our house of formation, philosophy and theology so he is steeped in the traditions of St. Ignatius,” he noted. “If you read his homily from yesterday and his Angelus Address, you’ll find very much the first week of the (Ignatian Spiritual) exercises. I think he’s going to preach out of the exercises as he has already. He will encourage people to go out into the world, to embrace the world, to find the world to be a cloister where God is found and were God is served.”
Father McShane also called Cardinal Bergoglio’s selection of the name of Francis as “brilliant.” He noted that St. Ignatius himself was devoted to St. Francis of Assisi and that the early-13th century Italian saint has broad appeal beyond the Catholic Church.
“I’ve had Franciscans say, jokingly, ‘well, that’s a very ecumenical move isn’t it, on the part of a Jesuit to take the name of our saint!’ But you know, beyond that, he has very ecumenical appeal among all Christian churches. He has interfaith appeal. He’s the saint for the whole world, Christian, non-Christian, believer, non-believer, everyone talks of St. Francis of Assisi. He’s also the green saint... So I think the choice of the name was startling.”
Father Chuck Frederico, S.J., vocations director for the East Coast Jesuits, said that he too was shocked by the choice of a fellow Jesuit but noted that selection has already had one benefit. The traffic on the Jesuit vocations website has picked up substantially since the announcement.
“Jesuits aren’t supposed to be big on pride,” he admitted. “We have very few bishops in the world and generally they’re in places of mission where they need to establish the Church. Once the local church gets established then we come home. We were watching on CNN and we were saying, ‘Oh my God, that’s the Jesuit cardinal!’ We were really excited for him. I mean the way he presented himself, bowed before the people and asked for their blessing was just so moving. All the staff just started tearing up. I think he’s a simple guy and I think that will definitely influence how he serves.”
