The fifth and final installment of Loyola’s Lenten lectures took place March 16 in the Ignatius Chapel, rounding out the series with a reflection on forgiveness, prayer and judgment.

Father Ted Dziak, S.J. led a passionate discussion on Pope Francis and his strong roots in Ignatian spirituality, chronicling Francis’s rise from a trouble-making young Jesuit to the face of the Catholic church.

“Francis says he made his mistakes,” Dziak said.

It wasn’t until an epiphany he had after witnessing a Confession in Buenos Aires during September of 1953 that he felt compelled to follow the path of priesthood.

“Something strange happened to me in that Confession,” Pope Francis said. “I don’t know what it was, but it changed my life.”

In describing the Pope’s motives, Dziak reminded the crowd that Francis’ willing to accept outcast groups like homosexuals is a reflection of his Jesuit upbringing and teaching within the catechism, just as Ignatius was not a critic in the time of Luther.

“Francis has put the poor and disadvantaged at the center of his agenda,” Dziak said.

Dziak recounted that Francis is a human being and therefore also in need of forgiveness.

“Gone are the days where people kiss the Pope’s ring,” Dziak said.

Dziak closed discussion with a few additional pieces of advice from the Pope.

“Immerse yourself in the world but withdraw daily,” Francis said. “Ask yourself where was God in my life today? Where is God now? Where is God leading me tomorrow?”

The Lenten lecture series came to a close with an emphasis on Francis’s sympathy and compassion tying into the Divine Year of Mercy, which Pope Francis called for in April 2015 and which comes to a close on Nov. 20.