Longford woman reflects on the legacy of Pope Francis: 'Build Bridges not walls'

This morning, as we sat watching Pope Francis’ funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s call to “build bridges, not walls” in his memory, gave me pause.

And as often happens in the presence of truth, the oxygen was sucked out of the room as we absorbed these four simple words that captured the essence of Pope Francis’ legacy.

There are striking parallels with world leaders gathered there, and CEOs of major global organisations — leaders who step into the spotlight, set out their vision, and then let time judge whether they stayed true to it.

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First, let’s talk scale. Pope Francis led a global organisation of 240 cardinals, 5,600 bishops, and around 407,000 priests, serving 1.3 billion people worldwide.

To put that into perspective: Apple has around 164,000 employees serving 1.5 billion users; Meta, with about 74,000 employees, reaches 3.2 billion users each month.

Yet, in a world often captivated by authority, influence, and scale, Pope Francis led differently. He stayed anchored to his personal values — choosing humility over hierarchy, presence over power, and building bridges where others might build walls.

In this way, he redefined leadership for a global institution.

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His leadership wasn’t measured by proclamations from a grand throne, but by the quiet, powerful way he drew closer to the people he served. "True power is service," he once said — and he lived it.

He declined traditional papal luxuries, choosing to live simply and work alongside others.

His $360,000 per year salary was foregone, opting instead to continue the simple life that had defined his earlier ministry — a choice that stood as a powerful reminder to others who might be bound by the golden handcuffs of privilege.

In a similar spirit of humility, he reimagined Church leadership, reshaping his executive team to better reflect the global church, streamlining key Vatican functions to align more closely with the mission of service, and increasing accountability.

Whether embracing a refugee, visiting a prison, or speaking to world leaders behind closed doors, he showed that real leadership begins with seeing, listening, and standing alongside.

In guiding a global Church through complexity and change, he offered a timeless lesson: lasting influence is built not through control, but through connection.

* Was he perfect? No.

* Did he encounter fierce resistance? Yes.

* Is there more he could have done? Absolutely.

But leadership is a continuous journey of growth and evolution, and what he did, was

*He redefined leadership-at-scale as heart-centred service, not privilege.
*He demonstrated that humility creates moral authority, not weakness.

*He showed that credibility and followership come from authenticity not status.

Finally, and most importantly in my mind, he reminded us that those who change the world are those who dare to walk humbly within it.

As we reflect on his legacy, we are reminded of the kind of leaders we, too, can choose to be — leaders who put people before power, service before status, and humility at the heart of all we do.

What does that look like in your own leadership journey?

- by Caroline Hughes, CEO Conscious Leadership Development