In this insightful text, Stan Chu Ilo addresses key questions that face modern Catholicism, particularly in Africa. He shows how two key themes of Pope Francis—the church of the poor and the church of mercy—have deep roots in biblical, patristic, and diverse ecclesial traditions. In Ilo’s focus on Africa, he offers a “Triple A ecclesiology” of accountability, accompaniment, and action guided by some of the practices and theological aesthetics of Pope Francis. The result is a road map and guide for the mission of God in history beyond the papacy of Pope Francis.

Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and theologian from Nigeria, is currently a senior research professor at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University, Chicago and coordinating servant of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN). He is author of A Poor and Merciful Church, editor of Handbook of African Catholicism, and co-editor of Toward a Synodal Church in Africa.

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