Habemus Papam! We have a new pope. Can there be any phrase more joyful to the Catholic ear? And now all eyes will be on him, watching and waiting to see the direction this new successor to Peter will take.

Pope Francis’ time as leader of the Catholic church was striking for his humility, compassion, commitment to the poor, and leadership on international concerns. His encyclicals advocated for care and generosity, for our fellow citizens, for our environment, and for the common good. He travelled to some of the most troubled spaces on the planet, including a ground-breaking visit to Canada to issue a long-awaited papal apology to Indigenous peoples on Canadian soil.

Jesus led by example, and in his early ministry delivered miracles to assure and embrace his followers. He also reminded us we needed to trust in His authenticity, and to model His goodness of heart to celebrate the dignity of our fellow citizens.

As far as I can remember, I am not at all forgetful. Nevertheless, I have dozens of notepads everywhere: at home, in my car and at work. Whenever I have a thought about something that needs to be done, I jot it down urgently.

Despite being a word nerd, I was never drawn to crossword puzzles—until recently. My daughter introduced me to The New York Times Wordle game, which in turn led me to what was, I hoped, a healthy interest in their apparently famous crossword.

My last job in Australia before I returned to Canada was at a Catholic university in the very heart of Sydney. Much like my current Corpus Christi College campus here in Vancouver, it had a small but dynamic parish.

The dismissive labeling of the difficult work we do as “soft” is patronizing when used by those outside the humanities and social sciences. It reflects an inferiority complex, and a deep devaluing of these skills by those who want to champion them.

I am surely not the only child who was stressed to see Catholic calendars displaying images of Jesus adorned with an anatomically explicit, occasionally bleeding, heart.

Perhaps most relevant at this time is that there is a well-known phobia fearing the arrival of the new year — neoannophobia — and as one would expect, a saint to counter this unease — St. Sylvester.

Driving to work one cold January day in 2016, I heard an announcement on the radio that the Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary, Frederick B. Henry, was officially announcing his retirement after 19 years as a bishop. I can’t say I was surprised, but I certainly felt a tug of sadness.