The conclave has not yet begun, but here are three unfinished things from the Francis pontificate that will need to be addressed by his successor.
1. Rescheduling the canonization of Bl. Carlo Acutis and other canonizations and beatifications
Bl. Carlo Acutis was set to be canonized on April 27, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square. The 15-year-old Italian teenager was in line to become the first canonized millennial saint. With the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the canonization was postponed.
Also postponed were the beatifications of Mária Magdolna Bódi, Pietro Paolo Oros, and Camille Costa de Beauregard.
Further, the canonizations of three people were approved by Pope Francis on March 31, including the first female saint of Venezuela, the first saint of Papua New Guinea, and an Armenian archbishop who was a victim of the 1915 genocide. The dates for their canonizations were never set. They are: Blessed Maria del Monte Carmelo, Blessed Peter To Rot, and Archbishop Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan.
Bódi, a Hungarian laywoman who was killed in 1945, was due to be beatified on April 26, in Veszprém, Hungary. Pietro Paolo Oros, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest who was executed by the Soviets in 1953, was scheduled for May 3, in Bilky, Ukraine. Camille Costa de Beauregard, a 19th century priest, was supposed to be beatified on May 17 in Chambéry, France.
While a pope is required to preside at a canonization, he is not needed to be physically present at a beatification. Indeed, Pope Francis had not planned on being at any of them in person. However, a pope must approve of the beatification for it to proceed, something that cannot happen if there is no pope.
The canonization of another youth, Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, which was scheduled for late July, is expected to proceed as normal with the new pope. It is possible that this event may be combined with the canonization of Acutis and even with the other three.
In any case, the rescheduling of these events is likely to be high on the agenda list for the new pope.
2. The scheduled papal trip to Turkey and the continuation of East-West dialogue
Back in 2023, Patriarch Bartholomew announced that Pope Francis intended to make the trip to Turkey, and various times, Pope Francis expressed a desire to visit Turkey in May 2025 for the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Likely due to Francis’ ongoing illness through the early months of 2025, no firm plans for the trip to Turkey were ever released to the public.
But given that the anniversary of the Council of Nicea isn’t until May 20, it’s not entirely out of the question that the new pope could make the short flight from Rome to Istanbul to meet with the patriarch and mark the anniversary of the first ecumenical council.
Prior to the pope's death, there were promising signs of dialogue with the Orthodox faithful. Pope Francis called for a unified date of Easter, and had a long-standing friendliness with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
In a statement published after Pope Francis' death, Bartholomew described Francis as a "faithful friend, companion, and supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate," and one who "left behind an example of genuine humility and brotherly love.”
"Eternal be your memory, Brother Pope Francis," said Bartholomew.
3. Synodality
On March 15, barely a month before he died, Pope Francis announced the next phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality – which culminates in a Vatican meeting in 2028.
This announcement came while the Pope was being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
“This process calls upon Dioceses and Eparchies, Episcopal Conferences, and the hierarchical structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as their continental groupings,” said the March 15 letter from Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod. Pope Francis approved the letter while he was in the hospital.
Cardinal Grech continued, writing “They will be responsible for engaging institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, lay associations, ecclesial movements, and new communities present in their territories. It will ultimately culminate in the celebration of an ecclesial assembly in the Vatican in October 2028.”
While “a new synod will not be convened,” wrote the cardinal, “the focus will be on consolidating the path taken so far.”
The letter further outlined a timeline for the coming three years.
In May 2025, there is set to be a “publication of the Support Document for the implementation phase, with guidelines for its conduct.”
The following 18 months, from June 2025 through December 2026, are designated for “implementation paths in local Churches and their groupings.”
The next pope will have to determine how, if at all, this process will continue.
