Pope Francis brought a surprising mix of empathy, humanity, and candor to the Roman Catholic Church — qualities that transformed how the Vatican was viewed and reported on. Journalists who closely followed his papacy reflect on how he changed the relationship between the Church and the press.

Jason Horowitz, CNN’s Rome bureau chief, covered Pope Francis for more than a decade and described the experience as nonstop.

“There was never a dull moment,” Horowitz said. “If there was a quiet period, you knew something big was going to happen.”

One such example was the sudden appointment of cardinals, often made without warning. Reporters regularly watched the balcony on Sundays in anticipation of surprise announcements.

Horowitz recounted how Pope Francis made himself remarkably accessible to journalists. During international trips, he would visit the back of the papal plane to greet each member of the press personally. At the end of each trip, he held open press conferences, answering unscripted questions.

“Francis was a pope who gave more interviews than any other,” Horowitz added. “He would even call journalists himself to schedule interviews — ‘When are you free? Can we do it next week?' That was his down-to-earth style. He was a newsmaker pope, and he kept us reporters very, very busy.”

Veteran Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb, who has covered three pontiffs since 2000, echoed Horowitz's sentiment.

“What was different about Francis was that he was easier to talk to. There seemed to be less distance between you and him,” Lamb said.

From the moment he emerged from the 2013 conclave as the first Jesuit pope, Francis defied expectations. His now-famous line — “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” — signaled a shift in tone that resonated far beyond Church walls.

Traveling with the pope, Lamb noted Francis's deep concern for the marginalized. “Migrants, the persecuted, he spoke up for them constantly, even when it became unfashionable to do so,” Lamb said. He shared that in one emotional moment during a trip to Bangladesh, the pope met with Rohingya refugees and was visibly overcome with emotion.

Pope Francis also made climate change a priority, issuing two major encyclicals that emphasized the urgent need for global unity in protecting the Earth.

While some expected radical reforms under his leadership, Francis took a more measured approach. He did not change core doctrines, such as the Church’s stance on women priests or same-sex marriage, but he expanded the role of women in Church decision-making and allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.

“He knew he was leading a global institution of 1.3 billion people,” Lamb explained. “He wasn’t going to be radical, but he opened doors in ways his predecessors hadn’t.”

As the world mourns Pope Francis, his death marks the loss of a consistent moral voice. “Rome is a city that has seen many popes,” said Lamb. “But this pope was a little different. On migration, on climate, on human rights, he stood alone at times. His passing leaves a void.”