Following the death of Pope Francis in the early morning on Easter Monday, tributes flooded in acknowledging his monumental legacy as an advocate for social justice and environmental issues.

In addition to his headline achievements, I was struck by his frequent prioritisation of children in both theology and praxis. Pope Francis spoke extensively about the importance of children, emphasising their inherent value and the need to safeguard them from various forms of harm. In a letter written last year to mark the Roman Catholic Church’s first World Children’s Day, he wrote:

“[a]ll children, everywhere, are a sign of every person’s desire to grow and flourish. You remind us that we are all children, brothers and sisters. We would not be alive unless others brought us into this world, nor could we grow without having others to love and from whom to receive love”. (Message of the Holy Father for the First World Children’s Day (25 to 26 May 2024), 02.03.2024)

He also highlighted the plight of children who are affected by conflict, poverty and abuse, stating, “Let us listen to their voices. We need to hear those voices”.

There are competing and contradictory narratives about children in society, with children sometimes seen as a means to an end, a void to be created in our own image, little more than nascent producers and consumers or at worst, vulnerable targets to exploit. With his simple and indelible instruction, “let the children come to me,” (Matthew 19:14), Jesus challenges anyone who would see children’s spirituality as subsidiary or derivative. Jesus’s words are often, and rightly, seen as a call to prioritise children. But they are more than that: they are a reminder to do everything we can to facilitate, resource and support every child’s encounter with Christ.