Navarrosa, who is currently writing his thesis on the pope’s 2016 encyclical 'Amoris Laetitia,' recalls meeting Francis in 2021 and says he had hoped to meet him again. “I’m not worried about the future of the church, because it is guided by the Holy Spirit,” he says.

Maps, graphics explain relatively humble funeral for Pope Francis: public viewing, casket and non-traditional burial site

Although Pope Francis simplified the papal funeral rites in a move of typical modesty, Saturday’s ceremony will still be full of pomp and pageantry, as the world’s Catholics bid him farewell and cardinals in the Vatican ready themselves for the millennia-old process of picking a new pontiff.

Pope transformed the church’s senior leadership, exposing growing differences over teachings. “Once you start opening the door, then there is confusion and also ambiguity in the doctrines,” says one cardinal.