“No man is an island,” wrote John Donne, reminding us that we are all bound together — not by geography alone, but by the fragile, profound threads of our common humanity. That truth, so often spoken and lived by Pope Francis, echoed powerfully in St. Peter’s Square.
“As the coffin was lifted, I gasped,” recalled Rev. Tara Curlewis, WCRC’s ecumenical liaison in Rome. “It was deeply moving. Then, the bells tolled — not just for Francis, but for all of us, connected by our common humanity. In that sound, we heard a call — to simplicity, to solidarity, and to a hope rooted in resurrection.”
Representatives from the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) stood among a sea of mourners in St. Peter’s Square last week, honoring a pope who transcended denominational lines and called the global Church toward justice, compassion and creation care.
Rev. Dr. Najla Kassab, president of the WCRC, and Rev. Tara Curlewis, the Communion’s ecumenical liaison in Rome, were among the ecumenical guests attending the funeral of Pope Francis. Wearing black and symbols of Reformed identity, they stood not as spectators, but as fellow witnesses of the Gospel. The white stole (Najla) spoke of resurrection hope; the ecumenical cross (Tara) symbolized our prayer for reform.
“We were there not just to pay respects, but to express the deep gratitude of the Reformed family for a life that spoke across boundaries,” Kassab said. “Representing the WCRC at this moment in history was a testimony to the unity we are called to embody — walking together as churches.”
From the outset of his papacy, Pope Francis made it clear that his was not a pontificate of pomp but of purpose. Choosing the name Francis after the saint of Assisi, he set the tone for a ministry centered not on power, but on poverty, ecology and solidarity. For many within the WCRC, his voice carried uncommon moral clarity.
“He embodied what it meant to listen to the margins — the poor, the displaced, the Earth itself,” Kassab said.
One of Francis’ most defining contributions came in 2015, with the publication of his encyclical Laudato Si’, a powerful call for ecological and social transformation. He warned of environmental devastation, writing that “the Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” But his response was not despair; it was rooted in the theology of integral ecology — the inextricable link between care for creation, care for the poor and care for the human spirit.
For Curlewis, the encyclical remains a living document. “It continues to challenge and guide the Church — including us in the Reformed tradition,” she said. “It sharpens our witness and calls us to account.”
She highlighted how the Uniting Church in Australia, a WCRC member, has taken Laudato Si’ seriously. “It’s an example of receptive ecumenism — allowing the witness of others to shape our own commitments.”
As the funeral service unfolded under a gray Roman sky, the Gospel reading from Luke 24 recounted the women arriving at the empty tomb. It was a reading that matched the quiet hope present in the crowd — the hope Francis had so often spoken of: resurrection as both promise and practice.
Then came the moment that would stay with Curlewis: the simple wooden coffin lifted from the ground, and the tolling of bells — 88 times.
“In that sound, we heard more than farewell,” she said. “We heard the call that marked his life — to walk humbly, to serve the least, and to keep reforming the Church in love.”
The WCRC, which represents more than 100 million Christians worldwide, continues to be shaped by this vision. Kassab emphasized that Francis’ legacy is not confined to the Catholic Church. “He reminded all of us what the Gospel looks like when it’s lived with courage and compassion.”
As the bells echoed through Vatican City, they rang out not just for the end of a papacy, but for the beginning of renewed commitments across the global Church. For Kassab and Curlewis, and for many in the Reformed tradition, Pope Francis’ life will remain a call — one that the Church must answer together.
