Pope Francis[b] (bornJorge Mario Bergoglio;[c] 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of theCatholic Church and sovereign of theVatican City State from 13 March 2013 untilhis death in 2025. He was the firstJesuit pope, the firstLatin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian popeGregory III.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (fourth boy from the left in the third row from the top) at age 12, Salesian College (c. 1948–1949)
Pope Francis was bornJorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936[16] inFlores,[17] aneighbourhood of Buenos Aires.[16] He was the eldest[18] of the five children of Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori. Mario Bergoglio was anItalian immigrant and an accountant[19] fromPiedmont.[20] Regina Sívori[21] was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family ofnorthern Italian origin.[22][23] Mario Bergoglio's family left Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule ofBenito Mussolini.[24]: 5 According to María Elena Bergoglio, the Pope's only living sibling, the family did not emigrate for economic reasons.[25] His other siblings were Oscar Adrián, Marta Regina, and Alberto Horacio.[26][27] His niece,Cristina Bergoglio, is a painter based inMadrid, Spain.[28][29]
In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles, a school of theSalesians of Don Bosco inRamos Mejía, Buenos Aires Province. He then attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial Nº 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen[30] and graduated with a chemical technician's diploma.[16][31][32] In that capacity, he spent several years working in the food section of Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory[33] where he worked underEsther Ballestrino. Earlier, he had been a bouncer and a janitor.[34][35]
When he was 21 years old, after life-threateningpneumonia and threecysts, Bergoglio had part of a lung excised.[30][36]
Priesthood
Training and early priesthood (1958–1973)
Bergoglio at an Argentine seminary where he studied for the priesthood in the 1950s
While on his way to celebrate theSpring Day, Bergoglio passed by a church to go toconfession and was inspired by a priest.[37] He then studied at the archdiocesanseminary,Inmaculada Concepción Seminary, inVilla Devoto, Buenos Aires, and, after three years, entered theSociety of Jesus as a novice on 11 March 1958.[38] Bergoglio said that, as a young seminarian, he had a crush on a girl and briefly doubted his religious career.[39] As a Jesuit novice, he studied the humanities inSantiago, Chile.[40]
After his novitiate, Bergoglio officially became a Jesuit on 12 March 1960 when he made the religious profession of the initial, perpetual vows ofpoverty, chastity and obedience of a member of the order.[41][24] In 1960, Bergoglio obtained alicentiate in philosophy from theColegio Máximo de San José. He then taught literature andpsychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, a high school inSanta Fe, from 1964 to 1965. In 1966, he taught the same courses atColegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires.[16][42]
Bergoglio completed his final stage of spiritual training as a Jesuit,tertianship, atAlcalá de Henares, Spain, and took final vows as a Jesuit, including thefourth vow of obedience to missioning by the pope, on 22 April 1973.[24]
After the completion of his term of office, he was named, in 1980, therector of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel where he had studied.[46] Before taking up this new appointment, he spent the first three months of 1980 in Ireland to learn English and stayed at the Jesuit Centre at theMilltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin.[47] He then served at San Miguel for six years until 1986[16] when, at the discretion of Jesuit superior-generalPeter Hans Kolvenbach, he was replaced by someone more in tune with the worldwide trend in the Society of Jesus toward emphasizing social justice rather than his emphasis on popular religiosity and direct pastoral work.[48]
Bergoglio was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and wasconsecrated on 27 June 1992 astitular bishop of Auca,[16][53] with CardinalAntonio Quarracino, archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving as principal consecrator.[54] He chose his episcopal motto to beMiserando atque eligendo,[55] drawn fromSaint Bede's homily on Matthew 9:9–13: "because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him".[56] In 1992, Jesuit authorities asked Bergoglio not to live in Jesuit residences due to ongoing tensions with leaders and scholars; concerns about his "dissent", views on Catholic orthodoxy, and opposition toliberation theology; and his role as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires.[57][58][51]
He became metropolitan archbishop after Quarracino's death on 28 February 1998. As archbishop, he established new parishes, restructured the archdiocese, led pro-life efforts, and formed a commission on divorces.[16][59] One of Bergoglio's major initiatives as archbishop was to increase the church's presence in theshantytown (villa miseria, or justvilla) slums of Buenos Aires. Under his leadership, the number of priests assigned to work in the shantytowns doubled, and he visited them himself.[60] This work led to him being referred to as the "villero bishop", sometimes translated as the "slum bishop".[61]
Early in his tenure as archbishop, Bergoglio sold the archdiocese's bank shares and moved its accounts to regular international banks. This ended the church's high spending habits, which had nearly led to its bankruptcy, and enforced stricter fiscal discipline.[62] On 6 November 1998, while remaining archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was namedOrdinary forEastern Catholics in Argentina, who lacked aprelate of their own church.[54] On Bergoglio's election to the papacy, Major ArchbishopSviatoslav Shevchuk said that Bergoglio understood the liturgy, rites, and spirituality of Shevchuk'sUkrainian Greek Catholic Church and always "took care of our Church in Argentina" as Ordinary.[52]
In 2000, Bergoglio was the only church official to reconcile withJerónimo Podestá, a former bishop who had been suspended as a priest after opposing theArgentine Revolution military dictatorship in 1972. He also defended Podestá's wife from Vatican attacks on their marriage.[63][64][65] That same year, Bergoglio said the Argentine Catholic Church needed "to put on garments of public penance for the sins committed during the years of the dictatorship" in the 1970s, during theDirty War.[63]
Bergoglio in 2008
Bergoglio regularly celebrated theHoly Thursdayfoot-washing ritual in jails, hospitals, retirement homes, and slums.[66] Bergoglio continued to be the archbishop of Buenos Aires after his elevation to the cardinalate in 2001. In 2007, shortly after Benedict XVI introduced new rules for pre–Vatican II liturgical forms, Bergoglio established a weekly Mass in thisextraordinary form of theRoman Rite.[67][68]
On 8 November 2005, Bergoglio was elected president of theArgentine Episcopal Conference for a three-year term (2005–2008),[69] and re-elected on 11 November 2008.[70] He remained a member of that commission's permanent governing body, the president of its committee for thePontifical Catholic University of Argentina, and a member of its liturgy committee for the care of shrines.[54] While head of the Argentine Catholic bishops' conference, Bergoglio issued a collective apology for his church's failure to protect people from the junta during the Dirty War.[71] When he turned 75 in December 2011, Bergoglio submitted his resignation as archbishop of Buenos Aires to Pope Benedict XVI as required bycanon law.[45] As he had no coadjutor archbishop, he stayed in office, waiting for the Vatican to appoint a replacement.[72]
As a bishop, he was no longer subject to his Jesuit superior.[73] From then on, he no longer visited Jesuit houses and was in "virtual estrangement from the Jesuits" until after his election as pope.[48][57]
Cardinal Bergoglio was known for his personal humility, doctrinal conservatism, and commitment tosocial justice.[77] Hissimple lifestyle—which included living in a small apartment rather than the elegant bishop's residence, using public transportation, and cooking his own meals—enhanced his reputation for humility.[78] He limited his time in Rome to "lightning visits".[79]
After Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, Bergoglio attendedhis funeral and was considered one of thepapabile for succession to the papacy.[80] He participated as acardinal elector in the2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. In theNational Catholic Reporter,John L. Allen Jr. reported that Bergoglio was a frontrunner in the 2005 conclave.[77][81] In September 2005, the Italian magazineLimes published claims that Bergoglio had been the runner-up and main challenger to Cardinal Ratzinger at that conclave and that he had received 40 votes in the third ballot but fell back to 26 at the fourth and decisive ballot.[82][83] The claims were based on a diary purportedly belonging to an anonymous cardinal who had been present at the conclave.[82][84] According to the Italian journalistAndrea Tornielli, this number of votes had no precedent for a Latin Americanpapabile.[84]La Stampa reported that Bergoglio was in close contention with Ratzinger during the election until he made an emotional plea that the cardinals should not vote for him.[85] According to Tornielli, Bergoglio made this request to prevent the conclave from delaying too much in the election of a pope.[86]
As a cardinal, Bergoglio was associated withCommunion and Liberation, a Catholic evangelical lay movement of the type known asassociations of the faithful.[77] He sometimes made appearances at the annual gathering known as theRimini Meeting held during the late summer months in Italy.[77] In 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio authorized the request forbeatification—the third of four steps towardsainthood—for six members of thePallottine community murdered in theSan Patricio Church massacre.[87][88] Bergoglio also ordered an investigation into the murders;[88] 1984 testimony indicated that they were perpetrated by members of theArgentine Navy on the orders of Rear Admiral Rubén Chamorro.[89][90]
Bergoglio was the subject of allegations regarding theArgentine Navy's kidnapping of two Jesuit priests, Orlando Yorio andFranz Jalics, in 1976, during Argentina'sDirty War. After being tortured in captivity, the priests were found alive months later outside Buenos Aires, drugged and partially unclothed.[91][80] Bergoglio is widely reported to have failed to protect the priests, and to have dismissed them from the Society of Jesus days prior to their arrest.[92] In 2005,Myriam Bregman, a human rights lawyer, filed a criminal complaint against Bergoglio, as superior in the Society of Jesus of Argentina, accusing him of actual involvement in the kidnapping.[80] While the complaint was eventually dismissed, the debate over Bergoglio's actions during the period has continued, with Argentine journalists relying on documents and statements from both priests and laypeople in reporting that contradict Cardinal Bergoglio's account.[92]
Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads by declining to tell the authorities that he endorsed their work. Yorio said in a 1999 interview that he believed that Bergoglio did nothing "to free us, in fact just the opposite".[93] Two days after the election of Francis, Jalics issued a statement confirming the kidnapping and attributing the cause to a former lay colleague who became a guerrilla, was captured, then named Yorio and Jalics when interrogated.[94] The following week, Jalics issued a second, clarifying statement: "It is wrong to assert that our capture took place at the initiative of Father Bergoglio ... Orlando Yorio and I were not denounced by Father Bergoglio."[95][96]
Bergoglio told his authorized biographer,Sergio Rubin, that he worked behind the scenes for the priests' release; Bergoglio's intercession with dictatorJorge Rafael Videla on their behalf may have saved their lives.[91] Bergoglio also told Rubin that he had often sheltered people from the dictatorship on church property, and once gave his own identity papers to a man who looked like him so that he could flee Argentina.[91] The interview with Rubin, reflected in the biographyEl jesuita, was the only time Bergoglio had spoken to the press about those events.[97]Alicia Oliveira, a former Argentine judge, also reported that Bergoglio helped people flee Argentina during the rule of the junta.[98] Since Francis became pope, Gonzalo Mosca[99] and José Caravias[100] have related accounts to journalists of how Bergoglio helped them flee the dictatorship.
Oliveira described Bergoglio as "anguished" and "very critical of the dictatorship" during the Dirty War.[101] Oliveira met with him at the time and urged Bergoglio to speak out—he told her that "he couldn't. That it wasn't an easy thing to do."[93] Artist and human rights activistAdolfo Pérez Esquivel, the 1980Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said: "Perhaps he didn't have the courage of other priests, but he never collaborated with the dictatorship... Bergoglio was no accomplice of the dictatorship."[102][103]Graciela Fernández Meijide, a member of thePermanent Assembly for Human Rights, also said that there was no proof linking Bergoglio with the dictatorship. She told theClarín newspaper:
There is no information and Justice couldn't prove it. I was in theAPDH during all the dictatorship years and I received hundreds of testimonies. Bergoglio was never mentioned. It was the same in theCONADEP. Nobody mentioned him as instigator or as anything.[104]
Ricardo Lorenzetti, the president of the Argentine Supreme Court, said that Bergoglio was "completely innocent" of the accusations.[105] HistorianUki Goñi pointed that, during early 1976, the military junta still had a good image among society, and that thescale of the political repression was not known until much later; Bergoglio would have had little reason to suspect that the detention of Yorio and Jalics could end in their deaths.[106]
Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa replacedCarlos Menem as president of Argentina in 1999. As an archbishop, Bergoglio celebrated the annual Mass at theBuenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral on theFirst National Government holiday, 25 May.[107] During Argentina'seconomic depression, the Catholic Church criticized the government's austerity measures, which worsened poverty. De la Rúa asked the church to facilitate dialogue between economic and political leaders to address the crisis. Although he claimed to have spoken with Bergoglio, Bergoglio reportedly said the meeting was canceled due to a misunderstanding. Bishop Jorge Casaretto had doubted this, noting that De la Rúa made the request only in newspaper interviews, not formally to the church.[108]
In the2001 elections, theJusticialist Party won a majority in Congress and appointedRamón Puerta as Senate president. Bergoglio met with Puerta and was positively impressed. Puerta assured him that the Justicialist Party was not planning to oust De la Rúa and promised to support the president in advancing necessary legislation.[109]
During police repression of theriots of December 2001, Bergoglio contacted the Ministry of the Interior and asked that the police distinguish rioters and vandals from peaceful protesters.[110]
When Bergoglio celebrated Mass at the cathedral for the 2004 First National Government holiday, PresidentNéstor Kirchner attended and heard Bergoglio request more political dialogue, the rejection of intolerance, and the criticism of exhibitionism and strident announcements.[111] Kirchner celebrated the national day elsewhere the following year and the Mass in the cathedral was suspended.[112] In 2006, Bergoglio helped fellow JesuitJoaquín Piña win the elections in theMisiones Province and prevent an amendment to the local constitution that would allow indefinite re-elections. Kirchner intended to use that project to start similar amendments at other provinces and eventually implement it in the national constitution.[113] Kirchner considered Bergoglio as a political rival until he died in 2010.[114] Bergoglio's relations with Kirchner's widow and successor,Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, have been similarly tense. In 2008, Bergoglio called for national reconciliation duringdisturbances in the country's agricultural regions, which the government interpreted as a support for anti-government demonstrators.[114] The campaign to enactsame-sex marriage legislation was a particularly tense period in their relations.[114]
When Bergoglio was elected pope, initial reactions were mixed. Most of the Argentine society cheered it, but the pro-government newspaperPágina 12 published renewed allegations about the Dirty War, and the president of theNational Library described a global conspiracy theory. The president took more than an hour before congratulating the new pope and did so only in a passing reference within a routine speech. Due to the Pope's popularity in Argentina, Cristina Kirchner made what the political analyst Claudio Fantini called a "Copernican shift" in her relations with him and fully embraced the Francis phenomenon.[115] On the day before his inauguration as pope, Bergoglio, now Francis, had a private meeting with Kirchner where they exchanged gifts and lunched together. This was the new pope's first meeting with a head of state, and there was speculation that the two were mending their relations.[116][117]Página 12 thenremoved their controversial articles about Bergoglio from their web page as a result of this change.[118]
Javier Milei
BeforeJavier Milei's election to the Argentine presidency in 2023, he was very critical of Francis, describing him as "imbecile" and a "communist turd". His disparaging comments sparked controversy among Catholics.[119] However, following his inauguration, Milei softened his position and formally invited Francis to Argentina. Milei visited the Vatican on 11 February 2024, the day Francis canonizedMaría Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, the first female Argentine saint.[120]
Francis was the first Jesuit pope. This was a significant appointment because of the sometimes tense relations between the Society of Jesus and theHoly See.[124] He was also the first fromLatin America,[125] and the first from theSouthern Hemisphere.[126] Many media reported him as being the first non-European pope, but he was the 11th; the previous wasGregory III from Syria who died in 741. Although Francis was not born in Europe, he wasethnically European; his father and maternal grandparents were from northern Italy.[127]
As pope, Francis's manner was less formal than that of his immediate predecessors, a style that news coverage referred to as "no frills", noting that it was "his common touch and accessibility that is proving the greatest inspiration".[128] On the night of his election, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals rather than being driven in the papal car.[129] The next day, he visited CardinalJorge María Mejía in the hospital and chatted with patients and staff.[130]
In addition to hisnative Spanish, he spoke fluent Italian (the official language of Vatican City and the "everyday language" of the Holy See) and German. He was also conversant in Latin (theofficial language of the Holy See),[131] French,[132] Portuguese,[133] and English;[134][135] he also understoodPiedmontese and someGenoese Ligurian.[136]
Francis chose not to live in the officialpapal residence in theApostolic Palace but instead remained in theVatican guest house in a suite in which he received visitors and held meetings. He was the first pope sincePope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments.[137] Francis appeared at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the SundayAngelus.[138]
As a Jesuit pope, Francis made clear that a fundamental task of the faithful is not so much to follow rules but to discern what God is calling them to do. He altered the culture of the clergy, steering away from what he named "clericalism" (which dwells on priestly status and authority) and toward an ethic of service (Francis said the church's shepherds must have the "smell of the sheep", always staying close to the People of God).[139]
Francis appears in public for the first time as pope, at St. Peter's Basilica balcony, 13 March 2013
Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013,[16][140][141] the second day of the2013 papal conclave, after which he took thepapal name Francis.[16][142] Francis was elected on the fifth ballot.[143] TheHabemus papam announcement was delivered by thecardinal protodeacon,Jean-Louis Tauran.[144] CardinalChristoph Schönborn later said that Bergoglio was elected following two supernatural signs, one in the conclave—and hence confidential—and one from a Latin-American couple, friends of Schönborn at Vatican City, who whispered Bergoglio's name in the elector's ear; Schönborn commented "if these people say Bergoglio, that's an indication of the Holy Spirit".[145]
Instead of accepting his cardinals' congratulations while seated on thepapal throne, Francis received them standing, reportedly an immediate sign of a changing approach to formalities at the Vatican.[146] During his first appearance as pontiff on the balcony ofSaint Peter's Basilica, he wore a whitecassock, instead of the red, ermine-trimmedmozzetta[146][147] used by previous popes.[148] He also wore the same ironpectoral cross that he had worn as archbishop of Buenos Aires, rather than the gold one worn by his predecessors.[147][149]
After being elected and choosing his name, his first act was bestowing theUrbi et Orbi blessing on thousands of pilgrims gathered inSt. Peter's Square. Before blessing the crowd, he delivered a brief speech, greeting those in St. Peter's Square with a simple "Buonasera" ("Good evening", in Italian). He thanked the crowd for welcoming him and asked them to pray for his predecessor, "the bishop emeritus of Rome" Pope Benedict XVI, and for himself as the new "bishop of Rome". He also referred to himself as a Pope coming almost from the end of the world.[150][151]
Francis held hispapal inauguration on 19 March 2013 in St. Peter's Square.[16] He celebrated Mass in the presence of political and religious leaders from around the world.[152] In his homily, Francis focused on theSolemnity of Saint Joseph, the liturgical day on which the Mass was celebrated.[153]
The next day,Federico Lombardi told to the media that Francis had met all the cardinals in theSistine Chapel choosing to stand up, rather than sitting on the chair at his disposal, and that he went back to theDomus Sanctae Marthae on a minivan with the other cardinals, instead of using a private car. Afterward he went to the guest house where he had resided during the conclave, collected his belongings and insisted on paying the bill.[154]
At his first audience on 16 March 2013, Francis told journalists that he had chosen the name in honor ofSaint Francis of Assisi and had done so because he was especially concerned for the well-being of the poor.[155][156][157] He explained that, as it was becoming clear during the conclave voting that he would be elected, the Brazilian CardinalCláudio Hummes had embraced him and whispered, "Don't forget the poor", which made Bergoglio think of the saint.[158][159] Bergoglio had previously expressed his admiration for St. Francis, explaining that: "He brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time. He changed history."[160]
It was the first time that a pope had been named "Francis". On the day of his election, the Vatican clarified that his official papal name was "Francis" and not "Francis I"; that is, noregnal number was used for him. If there is a Francis II, then Francis will be known as Francis I.[156][161] It was the first time sinceLando's 913–914 pontificate that a canonical pope held a name not used by a predecessor.[d]
Francis also said that some cardinal electors had jokingly suggested to him that he should choose either "Adrian", sinceAdrian VI had been a reformer of the church, or "Clement", to settle the score withClement XIV who hadsuppressed the Jesuit order.[163][164] Bergoglio, had he been elected in 2005, would have chosen the pontifical name of "John XXIV" in honor ofJohn XXIII. He told CardinalFrancesco Marchisano: "John, I would have called myself John, like the Good Pope; I would have been completely inspired by him."[165]
Curia
Inauguration of Francis, 19 March 2013
Francis abolished the bonuses paid to Vatican employees upon the election of a new pope, amounting to several million euros, opting instead to donate the money to charity.[166] He also abolished the €25,000 annual bonus paid to cardinals serving on the Board of Supervisors for theVatican bank.[167]
On 13 April 2013, Francis named eight cardinals to a newCouncil of Cardinal Advisers to advise him on revising the organizational structure of the Roman Curia. The group included several known critics of Vatican operations and only one member of the Curia.[168][169]
Early issues
On the firstHoly Thursday following his election, Francis washed and kissed the feet of ten male and two female juvenile offenders imprisoned at Rome's Casal del Marmo detention facility, telling themthe ritual of foot washing is a sign that he is at their service.[170] This was the first time that a pope had included women in this ritual, although he had already done so when he was archbishop.[170] One of the male and one of the female prisoners wereMuslim.[170]
On 31 March 2013, Francis used his firstUrbi et Orbi Easter address to make a plea forworld peace, specifically mentioning the Middle East, Africa, and North and South Korea.[171] He also spoke out against those who give in to "easy gain" in a world filled with greed and made a plea for humanity to become a better guardian of creation by protecting the environment.[171][135] Although the Vatican had prepared greetings in 65 languages, Francis chose not to read them.[135] According to the Vatican, the pope "at least for now, feels at ease using Italian".[172]
In 2013, Francis initially reaffirmed theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's programme toreform the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious[173] which had been initiated under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.The New York Times reported that the Vatican had formed the opinion in 2012 that thesisters' group had some feminist influences, focused too much on ending social and economic injustice and not enough on stopping abortion, and permitted speakers who questioned church doctrine.[174][173] In April 2015 the investigation was brought to a close. While the timing of the closure may have anticipateda visit by Francis to the US in September 2015, it was noted that the sisters' emphasis is close to that of Francis.[175]
Francis oversaw synods onthe family (2014), onyouth (2018), and onthe church in the Amazon region (2019). In 2019 Francis's apostolic constitutionEpiscopalis communio allowed that the final document of a synod may become magisterial teaching simply with papal approval. The constitution also allowed for laity to contribute input directly to the synod's secretary general.[176] Some analysts see the creation of a truly synodal church as likely to become the greatest contribution to Francis's papacy.[177]
On 4 October 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of theSynod on Synodality, described by some as the culmination of his papacy and one of the most important events in the Church since theSecond Vatican Council.[5][6]
Institute for the Works of Religion
In the first months of Francis's papacy, theInstitute for the Works of Religion, informally known as the Vatican Bank, said that it would become more transparent in its financial dealings.[178] There had long been allegations of corruption andmoney laundering connected with the bank.[179][180] Francis appointed a commission to advise him about reform of the Bank,[179][180] and the finance consulting firmPromontory Financial Group was assigned to carry out a comprehensive investigation of all customer contacts.[181] In January 2014, Francis replaced four of the five cardinal overseers of the Vatican Bank who had been confirmed in their positions in the final days of Benedict XVI's papacy.[182] Lay experts and clerics were looking into how the bank was run.Ernst von Freyberg was put in charge.Moneyval felt more reform was needed, and Francis showed some willingness to close the bank if the reforms proved too difficult.[183] There was uncertainty about how far reforms could succeed.[184]
Pope Francis wrote a variety of books,encyclicals, and other texts, including a memoir,Hope.[185] On 29 June 2013, Francis published the encyclicalLumen fidei, which was largely the work of Benedict XVI but awaited a final draft at his retirement.[186] On 24 November 2013, Francis published his first major letter as pope, theapostolic exhortationEvangelii gaudium,[187] which he described as the programmatic of his papacy.[188] On 18 June 2015, he published his first own encyclicalLaudato si' concerning care for the planet.[189] On 8 April 2016, Francis published his second apostolic exhortation,Amoris laetitia,[190] remarking on love within the family. Controversy arose at the end of 2016 when four cardinals formally asked Francis for clarifications, particularly on the issue of giving communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.[191]
A further apostolic exhortation,Gaudete et exsultate (Rejoice and be glad), was published on 19 March 2018, dealing with "thecall to holiness" for all persons. He counters contemporary versions of thegnostic andPelagianheresies and describes how Jesus's beatitudes call people to "go against the flow".[192]
In February 2019, Francis acknowledged that priests and bishops were sexually abusingreligious sisters.[193] He addressed this and theclergy sex abuse scandal by convening a summit on clergy sexual abuse in February 2019.[194] As a follow-up to that summit, on 9 May 2019 Francispromulgated themotu proprioVos estis lux mundi which specified responsibilities, including reporting directly to the Holy See on bishops and on one's superior, while simultaneously involving another bishop in thearchdiocese of the accused bishop.[195]
On 4 October 2020, Francis published the encyclicalFratelli tutti on fraternity and social friendship.[196]
On 8 December 2020, on the Feast of theImmaculate Conception, Pope Francis published theapostolic letterPatris corde ("With a Father's Heart").[197] To mark the occasion, the Pope proclaimed a "Year of Saint Joseph" from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021 on the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation ofSaint Joseph asPatron of theUniversal Church.[198]
On 1 June 2021, Francis published the apostolic constitutionPascite gregem Dei. The document reformed Vatican penal law by strengthening the penalties for sexual abuse and financial crimes; it also more harshly punished the ordination of women.[199]
1.5Azerbaijani manat postage stamp commemorating the pastoral visit of Francis to Azerbaijan on 2 October 2016.
Pope Francis upheld the Second Vatican Council's tradition by promotingecumenism with otherChristian denominations, encouraging dialogue with other religions, and supporting peace with secular individuals.[200]
In January 2014, Francis said that he would appoint fewermonsignors and only assign those honored to the lowest of the three surviving ranks of monsignor,chaplain of His Holiness; it would be awarded only todiocesan priests at least 65 years old. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis never sought the title for any of his priests. It is believed he associated it with clerical careerism and hierarchy, although he did not apply this restriction to clergy working in the Roman Curia or diplomatic corps where careerism was an even greater concern.[201]
Canonizations, beatifications and doctors of the church
Francis created 163 cardinals from 76 countries across tenconsistories. He held his first consistory in February 2014, a rare occasion in which he publicly appeared with his predecessor, Benedict XVI.[213][214] After the 2024 consistory, 110 cardinals appointed by Francis were under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote at apapal conclave. There were, at that point, 110 cardinal-electors created by Francis, 24 created by Benedict XVI, and six created by John Paul II.[215]
Francis's appointments made theCollege of Cardinals less European-dominated.[216] He appointed many cardinals fromdeveloping countries, including some of the world's poorest, and from countries on the peripheries of the church.[217]
Compared to his predecessors, Francis made fewer appointments ofRoman Curia officials to the cardinalate.[217] This was part of a general trend under Francis to a more decentralized church.[218] Compared to his predecessor Benedict, who preferred to appoint academically inclined churchmen as cardinal, Francis favored cardinals with a more pastoral focus,[217] especially those known for a focus on the poor and marginalized.[219] Francis also dropped the traditional custom of always appointing the archbishops of certain historically prominentsees (such as thePatriarch of Venice andArchbishop of Milan) as cardinals.[217]
TheHoly Doors of the major basilicas of Rome were opened, and special "Doors of Mercy" were opened at cathedrals and other major churches around the world, where the faithful could earn indulgences by fulfilling the usual conditions of prayer for the pope's intentions, confession, and detachment from sin, and communion.[222][223] During Lent of that year, special 24-hour penance services were celebrated, and during the year, special qualified and experienced priests called "Missionaries of Mercy" were available in every diocese to forgive even severe, special-case sins normally reserved to the Holy See'sApostolic Penitentiary.[224][225]
Francis established theWorld Day of the Poor in his Apostolic letter,Misericordia et Misera, issued on 20 November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.[226][227]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Francis canceledhis regular general audiences at St. Peter's Square to keep crowds from gathering and spreading the virus, which hadseriously affected Italy.[228] He encouraged priests to visit patients and health workers;[229] urged the faithful not to forget the poor during the time of crisis;[230] offered prayers for people with the virus in China;[231] and invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary under her titleSalus Populi Romani, as theDiocese of Rome observed a period of prayer and fasting in recognition of the victims.[232] The pontiff reacted with displeasure on 13 March 2020 to the news that the Vicar General had closed all churches in the Diocese of Rome. DespiteItaly being under a quarantine lockdown, Francis pleaded "not to leave the ... people alone" and worked to partially reverse the closures.[233]
Dense darkness has thickened on our squares, streets and cities; it looks over our lives filling everything with a deafening silence and a desolate void that paralyzes everything in its passage: you can feel it in the air, you can feel it in your gestures. ...In the face of suffering, where the true development of our peoples is measured, we discover and experience the priestly prayer of Jesus: 'may all be one'.[237]
On 9 January 2022, Francis stated in his annual speech to Vatican ambassadors: "The death penalty cannot be employed for a purported state justice, since it does not constitute a deterrent nor render justice to victims, but only fuels the thirst for vengeance."[242]
Francis categorically rejected theordination of women as priests.[5] Early in his papacy, he initiated dialogue on the possibility ofdeaconesses, creating in 2016 aStudy Commission on the Women's Diaconate to research the role of female deacons in early Christianity.[243] Its report was not made public,[244] but Francis said in 2019 that the commission was unable to come to a consensus.[245] In April 2020, Francis empaneled a new commission, led by CardinalGiuseppe Petrocchi with a new membership, to study the issue.[246] Francis delayed a decision on the issue for several years.[5] In interviews in late 2023 and 2024, he appeared to reject the idea of women deacons, saying that "holy orders is reserved for men."[247][244] Francis said that "the fact that the woman does not access ministerial life is not a deprivation, because her place is much more important"[247] and that women had acharism separate from "the ministerial way."[244]
In January 2021, Francis issuedSpiritus Domini, allowing bishops to institute women to the ministries ofacolyte andlector. While these instituted ministries were previously reserved to men, Catholic women already carried out these duties without institution in most of the world. Francis wrote that theseministries are fundamentally distinct from those reserved to ordained clergy.[248][249][250] The following month, Francis appointed women to several positions previously held only by men: a French member of theXaviere Missionary Sisters,Nathalie Becquart, was appointed co-undersecretary of theSynod of Bishops, and Italian magistrateCatia Summaria became the first woman Promoter of Justice in the Vatican's Court of Appeals.[251]
Francis was mandated by electing cardinals to sort out Vatican finances following scandals during the papacies of Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II. He stated he was determined to end corruption in the Catholic Church but was not very optimistic due to it being a human problem dating back centuries.[254]
In 2010, then-Cardinal Bergoglio commissioned a study which concluded that FatherJulio César Grassi, a priest convicted of child sexual abuse, was innocent, that his victims were lying, and that the case against him never should have gone to trial.[258] However, theSupreme Court of Argentina upheld the conviction and prison sentence against Grassi in March 2017.[258]
Early in his papacy, Francis chose a more lenient sentence for Mauro Inzoli, an Italian priest accused of child sexual abuse.[259] A church tribunal had ruled that Inzoli should belaicized (defrocked),[260] and he was defrocked in 2012 by Francis's predecessor Benedict.[259] Francis, however, reversed this decision in 2014; Francis agreed with thebishop of Crema that Inzoli should remain a priest but be removed from public ministry and ordered to retire to "a life of prayer and humble discretion."[259][260] Inzoli was convicted of sexually abusing children in Italian civil court in 2016, and sentenced to prison.[259] In unscripted remarks to thePontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in September 2017, Francis admitted that he mishandled the Inzoli case, saying that as a new pope, "I did not understand these things well and chose the more benevolent of the two sentences but after two years the priest had a relapse. I learned from this."[260] In the same remarks, he commented that the church "arrived late" in dealing with sexual abuse cases.[260]
In 2015, Francis was criticized for supporting Chilean bishopJuan Barros who was accused of covering upCatholic Church sexual abuse cases in Chile, including crimes committed against minors.[261] In 2018, Francis acknowledged he had made "grave errors" in judgment about Barros, apologized to the victims and launched a Vatican investigation that resulted in the resignation of three Chilean bishops: Barros,Gonzalo Duarte, andCristián Caro.[262]
In 2019, Francis defrockedTheodore McCarrick, a formerarchbishop of Washington, who maintained a prominent position in the church for decades despite repeated reports of sexual misconduct against him dating back to the 1980s. In 2017, after renewed allegations against McCarrick, Francis commissioned a Vatican investigation, which found that McCarrick had sexually molested both adults and minors.[263] In July 2018, McCarrick resigned from theCollege of Cardinals; in October 2018, Francis ordered a review of the Church's "institutional knowledge and decision-making" related to McCarrick.[264] Francis authorized the release, in November 2020, of the report of the Vatican's two-year investigation into McCarrick's career.[264][263] The report largely faultedPope John Paul II, who appointed McCarrick as archbishop in 2000 and accepted the churchman's denials of sexual abuse, despite multiple reports.[263] The report also found thatPope Benedict XVI placed informal restrictions on McCarrick, but these were never enforced, and Benedict did not investigate or formally sanction McCarrick even after he disregarded those restrictions.[263] The report concluded that Francis, before 2017, "had heard only that there had been allegations and rumors related to immoral conduct with adults occurring prior to McCarrick's appointment to Washington" and continued the approach of his predecessors John Paul and Benedict.[263]
Francis convened a summit on sexual abuse in February 2019, organized byHans Zollner; some abuse survivors expressed disappointment that the summit did not result in concrete rules on abuse prevention, responses to abuse, and Church cooperation with law enforcement authorities.[265] In December 2019, Francis abolished the "pontifical secrecy" privilege in sexual abuse cases, clarifying that bishops do not need authorization from the Vatican to turn over materials from canonical trials upon request of civil law enforcement authorities.[199][266] The lifting of the confidentiality rule was praised by victim advocates, but did not require the Church to affirmatively turn over canonical documents to civil authorities.[199][266]
In November 2021, Francis thanked journalists for their work in uncovering child sexual abuse scandals in the church. He also thanked journalists for "helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the abuse victims".[267]
In November 2022, French CardinalJean-Pierre Ricard admitted to having sexually abused a 14-year-old girl in the 1980s inMarseille.[268] French authorities opened an investigation into the case while Francis commented that now that "everything is clearer [...] more cases like this shouldn't surprise [anyone]", and condemned sexual abuse as "against priestly nature, and also against social nature".[269][270] Francis did not deprive Ricard of his status and privileges as a cardinal.[271]
The case ofSlovenian priestMarko Rupnik, accused of psychological, spiritual, and sexual abuse against multiple women, including nuns, drew significant controversy due to the Vatican's handling of the allegations.[274] Initially, theDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) declined to prosecute, citing the statute of limitations, despite acknowledging there was a case to answer.[275] Rupnik was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 for disobedience rather than for the abuse allegations and was later incardinated into theDiocese of Koper. Following widespread public outcry, Pope Francis ordered the case to be reopened and re-examined. After his conviction, Rupnik preached in 2020 aLenten meditation for priests working in theRoman Curia, including Pope Francis andLuis Ladaria Ferrer, and met privately with Pope Francis in January 2022.[274] Criticism intensified after it was revealed that artwork by Rupnik remains in use by the Vatican, including in Pope Francis's personal residence, despite calls from CardinalSeán Patrick O'Malley, head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, for its removal. The controversy fueled broader scrutiny of the Vatican's response to clergy abuse cases and its commitment to transparency and justice.[276][277][278] In January 2025, CardinalVíctor Manuel Fernández confirmed the DDF was working to establish an independent tribunal to move forward with judicial proceedings.[279]
InEvangelii gaudium, Francis revealed what would be the emphases of his pontificate: a missionary impulse among all Catholics, sharing the faith more actively, avoiding worldliness by more visibly living the gospel of God's mercy, and helping the poor and working forsocial justice.[280]
Since 2016, criticism against Francis by theological conservatives had intensified.[281][282][283][284][285] One commentator had described the conservative resistance against Francis as "unique in its visibility" in recent church history.[286] Some have explained the level of disagreement as due to his going beyond theoretical principles to pastoral discernment.[287]
From his first major letterEvangelii gaudium (Joy to the World), Francis called for "a missionary and pastoral conversion" whereby the laity would fully share in the missionary task of the church.[188][288] Then, in his letter on the call of all to the same holiness,Gaudete et exsultate, Francis describes holiness as "an impulse to evangelize and to leave a mark in this world".[289]
Francis called for decentralization of governance away from Rome and for a synodal manner of decision-making in dialogue with the people.[290] He strongly opposedclericalism[291] and madewomen full members of the church's dicasteries in Rome.[292]
At the 2017World Food Day ceremony, Francis highlighted the daily impacts of climate change and the solutions provided by scientific knowledge. He pointed out that while the international community had established legal frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, some nations had been withdrawing. He then expressed concern over a renewed indifference to ecosystem balance, the belief in controlling limited resources, and a greed for profit.[296] In 2019, he stated thatecocide was a sin and should be made "a fifth category of crimes against peace".[297][298][299]
In May 2024, Francis organized a climate summit that issued a Planetary Protocol for Climate Change Resilience including three pillars: greenhouse gas emissions reduction (while prioritizingnature-based solutions),climate change adaptation, and societal transformation.[300] The next month, Francis issued an apostolic letter titledFratello sole (Brother sun, referring to Saint Francis'Canticle of the Sun), ordering the Vatican to construct anagrivoltaics facility on its land holdings on the outskirts of Rome, as a gesture of the Church towards the environmental movement.[301]
Francis had highly extolled "popular movements" which demonstrate the "strength of us", serve as a remedy to the "culture of the self", and are based on solidarity with the poor and the common good.[302] He had praised liberation theology founderGustavo Gutierrez.[303] In 2024, he met with representatives of the Dialop group, a discussion group between Christians andMarxists, and encouraged them to cooperate.[304]
In September 2024, Francis renewed calls for a universal basic income, as well as higher taxes on billionaires.[305]
CardinalWalter Kasper had called mercy "the key word of his pontificate".[48]: 31–32 His papal mottoMiserando atque eligendo ("by having mercy and by choosing") contains a central theme of his papacy, God's mercy.[306][307] While maintaining the Catholic Church's traditional teaching against abortion, Francis had referred to the "obsession" of some Catholics with a few issues such as "abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods" which "do not show the heart of the message of Jesus Christ".[308]
While serving as thearchbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio led public opposition to the parliamentary bill on legalizingsame-sex marriage in Argentina, which was eventually approved by theArgentine Senate in 2010.[309] A letter he wrote in that campaign was criticized for using "medieval" and "obscurantist" language.[310][311][312] A church source quoted in the Argentine newspaperLa Nación called the letter a strategic error that contributed to the bill's success.[313]
As Pope, Francis marked a more accommodative tone on someLGBTQ topics than his predecessors.[314][315] In July 2013, his televised "Who am I to judge?" statement was widely reported in the international press, becoming one of his most famous statements onLGBTQ people.[316][317][318] In other public statements, Francis emphasized the need to accept, welcome, and accompany LGBTQ people,[308][319][320] including LGBTQ children.[321][322] Francis reiterated traditional Catholic teaching thatmarriage is between a man and a woman,[323][324] but supportedcivil unions as legal protections forsame-sex couples.[322][325] Under his pontificate, theDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that transgender people can be baptised.[326][327] The blessing of individuals in same-sex relationships was allowed by the documentFiducia supplicans.[328] Francis privately met with many LGBTQ people and activists.[329] In 2013, Francis was named Person of the Year byThe Advocate, an AmericanLGBTQ magazine.[330]
Gender ideology is something other than homosexual or transsexual people. Gender ideology makes everyone equal without respect for personal history. I understand the concern about that paragraph inDignitas Infinita, but it[sic] refers not to transgender people but to gender ideology, which nullifies differences. Transgender people must be accepted and integrated into society.[336]
In a January 2023 interview with theAssociated Press, Francis denounced thecriminalization of homosexuality (which he called "unjust"); he also called on the Catholic Church to "distinguish between a sin and crime" and asked bishops supporting such laws to reverse their position.[12][317][337] Francis repeated this stance the following month.[317]
International policy
Francis had regularly been accused by conservatives of having a "soft spot" for leftist populist movements.[338]
After Francis's visit to Cuba in 2015, Catholic Yale historianCarlos Eire said Francis had a "preferential option for the oppressors" in Cuba.[339] Francis had expressed criticism towardsright-wing populism.[340] Since 2016, Francis had been contrasted with US presidentDonald Trump,[341][11] with some conservative critics drawing comparisons between the two.[342][343] During the2016 United States presidential election, Francis said of Trump, "A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." Trump responded, "For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful."[344]
In response to criticism fromVenezuela's bishops, PresidentNicolás Maduro said in 2017 that he had the support of Francis.[345][346] Francis met with the country's bishops in June 2017, and the Venezuelan bishops' conference president stated, "There is no distance between the episcopal conference and the Holy See."[347] In January 2019, 20 former presidents in Latin America wrote a letter to Francis criticizing his Christmas address regarding the ongoingVenezuelan crisis for being too simplistic and for not acknowledging what they believed to be the causes of the suffering of the victims of the crisis.[348] Francis had sought peace in the crisis without picking a side.[349]
Francis's efforts toward rapprochement with China were highly controversial; a leading critic, CardinalJoseph Zen, said the 2018 agreement was a step toward the "annihilation" of the Catholic Church in China.[350][355][356] Critics said that the 2018 agreement "sold out" Chinese Catholics by accepting infringements onreligious freedom, undermining the Vatican's spiritual authority.[353][350]
The Chinese government repeatedly violated the 2018 deal with the Vatican.[353][357] Francis had defended the Vatican's dialogue with China on the appointment of new bishops, saying in 2021 that uneasy dialogue was better than no dialogue at all.[358] From the signing of the agreement until 2022, only six Catholic bishops in China were appointed.[353] In November 2022, the Vatican publicly accused China of violating the agreement by installingJohn Peng Weizhao as anauxiliary bishop without Vatican approval.[353] In April 2023, the Chinese government also installedJoseph Shen Bin asbishop of Shanghai without Vatican approval. Three months later, Francis recognized Shen Bin's appointment; the Vatican secretary of state,Pietro Parolin, said that the pope wanted to "remedy thecanonical irregularity created in Shanghai, in view of the greater good of the diocese and the fruitful exercise of the bishop's pastoral ministry."[354] The Vatican and the Chinese government renewed the agreement in 2022 and again in 2024.[359][360]
In November 2020, Francis named China'sUyghur minority among a list of the world's persecuted peoples. He wrote: "I think often of persecuted peoples: theRohingya [Muslims in Myanmar], the poor Uighurs, theYazidi—whatISIS did to them was truly cruel—or Christians in Egypt and Pakistan killed by bombs that went off while they prayed in church."Zhao Lijian, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of China, said Francis's remarks had "no factual basis".[361]
In 2019, during theHong Kong pro-democracy protests, Francis was criticized by Zen and other Catholic clergy in Hong Kong for failing to take a stand against China's repression and instead being quoted as saying, "I would like to go to China. I love China." Francis compared the protests in Hong Kong to those seenin Chile and in France.[362]
Theological disagreements
Amoris laetitia
On a theological level, controversy arose after the publication of the apostolic exhortationAmoris laetitia, especially regarding whether the exhortation had changed the Catholic Church's sacramental discipline concerning access to thesacraments of Penance and theEucharist for divorced couples who havecivilly remarried.[363] Francis had written: "It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church." He called for "a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases". He went on to say: "It is true that general rules set forth a good which can never be disregarded or neglected, but in their formulation they cannot provide absolutely for all particular situations."[364]
The exhortation had been implemented in different ways by bishops around the world.[365] In July 2017, a group of conservative clergy, academics, and laymen signed a document labeled as a "Filial Correction" of Francis,[366] which criticized the Pope for promoting what it described as seven heretical propositions through various words, actions, and omissions during his pontificate.[367]
Document on Human Fraternity
TheDocument on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together is a joint statement signed by Francis andAhmed el-Tayeb,Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, on 4 February 2019. This statement is concerned with how different faiths can live peaceably in the same areas; it later inspired theInternational Day of Human Fraternity, as acknowledged by the UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres.[368][369] Criticisms focused particularly on the passage about God's will with regard to the diversity of religions, claiming that the "pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings".[370][371] Catholic theologian Chad Pecknold wrote that this sentence was "puzzling, and potentially problematic".[372] Some Catholic observers tried to understand it as an allusion to the "permissive will" of God, allowing evil on earth.[371] Pecknold wrote that the diversity of religions might also be "evidence of our natural desire to know God".[372] BishopAthanasius Schneider claims that Pope Francis clarified to him that he was referring to "the permissive will of God".[373]
Traditionis custodes and the Tridentine Mass
In July 2021, Francis issuedmotu proprio, theapostolic letter titledTraditionis custodes, which reversed the decision of his predecessor Benedict XVI inSummorum Pontificum and imposed new restrictions on the use of theTraditional Latin Mass. The letter returned to the bishops the power to grant or ban the Latin Mass in their dioceses, and required newly ordained priests to request permission before performing the old rite, among other changes.[374][375]Traditionis custodes had been criticized by prelates including cardinalsRaymond Leo Burke,Gerhard Ludwig Müller, andJoseph Zen, and many lay faithful. Edwin Pentin wrote inNational Catholic Register that "The most general criticism is that the restrictions are unnecessary, needlessly harsh, and implemented in an unjustifiably swift fashion."[376]
Fiducia supplicans
In December 2023, theDicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration,Fiducia supplicans, approved by Francis.[328]Fiducia supplicans intended to provide clarification and reforms on the Catholic Church's treatment of "irregular relationships", defined as those who establish amonogamous and emotional bond that lasts over time and have not contracted a Catholic marriage. Notably, it allowsCatholic priests to perform "spontaneous blessings" of same-sex couples, as well as opposite-sex couples who are not married, and civilly married couples at least one party of which was previously divorced but had not received anannulment.[377]
Fiducia supplicans sparked considerable controversy among Catholics, including from several conservative commentators, clerical congregations, and high-profile cardinals, bishops, priests, and lay people.[378][379][380] CardinalGerhard Ludwig Müller called it "sacrilegious and blasphemous" and "self-contradictory".[381] CardinalRobert Sarah described the blessing of couples in irregular situations as "a heresy that seriously undermines the Church".[382] On 11 January 2024, CardinalFridolin Ambongo Besungu announced that all episcopal conferences in Africa, represented inSECAM, would reject blessings for same-sex couples, stating that "the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the declaration...cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals".[383][384]
When Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, he authored a text entitled "Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro".[385] John Paul was the first pope to visit Cuba. After a meeting between Francis and Cuban leaderRaúl Castro in May 2015, Castro said that he was considering returning to the Catholic Church.[386] He said in a televised news conference, "I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the [Catholic] church."[387]
As pope, Francis played a key role in the talks toward restoringfull diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba, announced on 17 December 2014.[388] The Pope, along with theGovernment of Canada, was a behind-the-scenes broker of the agreement, taking the role following President Obama's request during his visit to the Pope in March 2014.[389] The success of the negotiations was credited to Francis because "as a religious leader with the confidence of both sides, he was able to convince the Obama and Castro administrations that the other side would live up to the deal".[388] En route to the United States for avisit in September 2015, the Pope stopped in Cuba.[385]
In May 2015, Francis welcomed Abbas to the Vatican and said that: "The angel of peace destroys the evil spirit of war. I thought about you: may you be an angel of peace."[392] The Vatican signed a treatyrecognizing the state of Palestine.[393] The Vatican issued statements concerning the hope that peace talks could resume between Israel and Palestine. Abbas's visit was on the occasion of the canonization of two Palestinian nuns.[394]
On 13 May 2015, Vatican City announced the intention to sign its first treaty with theState of Palestine after formally recognizing it as a state in February 2013.[395]
Francis condemned theOctober 7 attacks and also criticized Israel's actions in theGaza Strip during the subsequentGaza war, saying that "terror should not justify terror" and describing Israel's airstrikes as "cruelty, this is not war."[398][399] He condemned the killing of twoPalestinian Christian women by anIDF sniper in Gaza, calling it "terrorism".[400] Throughout the war, Francis had called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of allhostages,[401] and the implementation of atwo-state solution.[402] In November 2024, Pope Francis suggested that the international community should investigate if Israel's campaign in Gaza is agenocide of the Palestinian people.[403] From October 2023 until the day he died, he spoke with theonly Catholic church in the Gaza Strip every night.[404][405] In his last public appearance he again called for a ceasefire and condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in Gaza.[406][407]
Migrant and refugee issues
Francis with South Korean presidentPark Geun-hye, 14 August 2014
Francis made the plight of refugees and migrants "a core component of his pastoral work" and had defended their rights indialogue both with Europe and with the United States. In 2019, he placed a statue inSt. Peter's Square to bring attention to the Christian imperative involved in their situation (Hebrews 13:2).[408][409][410] In line with this policy, Francis had criticized neo-nationalists andpopulists who reject the acceptance of refugees.[411][412]
In February 2025, following the election to a second term of US president Donald Trump there were mass deportations and swingeing cuts to international aid by the new administration, defended by Vice PresidentJD Vance, a Catholic, by recasting the Catholic idea ofordo amoris (the right ordering of one's love) as a justification for nativism. Francis wrote what had been described as "an extraordinary and excoriating response to US bishops". He cited theparable of the Good Samaritan, described theordo amoris as the love that "builds a fraternity open to all, without exception" and criticized the focus on solely family, community or national identity as "[introducing] an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest".[414][415]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Francis with Polish prime ministerMateusz Morawiecki and his family, Vatican City, June 2018
Throughout the war, Francis had called for an end to armed conflict.[423] Initially, he avoided specific criticism of Russia and PresidentPutin, frustrating many Ukrainians.[424] Later, he described Ukraine as "martyred" and prayed for the victims ofRussian aggression but still did not directly criticize Putin or the Russian government.[424][425] His statements aligned more with countries like Brazil, India, and China[425] rather than the US and Europe—a stance some attribute to his distrust of America.[426] Francis warned against what he called a "simplistic good versus evil perception of the conflict", saying that a world leader who he did not name told him that NATO was "barking at the gates" of Russia, which led him to believe that the conflict was "somehow either provoked or not prevented."[422] These remarks damaged the Vatican's standing as a mediator in the conflict because supporters of Ukraine saw them as echoing Russian narratives about the war.[427]
Francis's blanket denunciations of arms transfers and the weapons industry[424][428] seemed to condemnWestern military aid to Ukraine.[425] In a September 2022 press conference, seven months into the war, Francis said that it was "licit" and justified for Ukraineto defend itself but called for a negotiated settlement (saying that there must be "dialogue with any power that is at war, even if it is with the aggressor" and even when "it stinks").[429][430][431] He also suggested that arms transfers to Ukraine were "a political decision which it can be moral, morally acceptable, if it is done under conditions of morality."[429] He later said that Ukrainians were a "noble" people and recounted CardinalKonrad Krajewski's reports of the "savage acts, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies" inflicted upon Ukraine.[431]
Francis's stances were rooted in part in his hope that the Vatican could broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, a possibility that analysts viewed as extremely unlikely.[424] He dispatched two high-ranking Vatican officials—Cardinals Krajewski andMichael Czerny—as envoys on several trips to Ukraine in 2022.[432][433][434] which was considered a highly unusual move of Vatican diplomacy.[435] In March 2022, Francisconsecrated both Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[436] Francis said in April 2023, during a trip toBudapest, that he was working on a secret "mission" to bring peace and returnUkrainian children abducted by Russia.[437][438] However, Francis's efforts to position the Vatican as a mediator have continuously failed.[425][427]
In early October 2022, Francis for the first time directly appealed to Putin to halt the "spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine.[439] In the same speech, Francis asked Ukrainian president Zelenskyy to be open about "serious peace proposals" while recognizing that Ukraine had suffered an "aggression" and saying that he was "pained about the suffering of the Ukrainian people".[440]
Francis condemned thepersecution of Christians by ISIL and supported the use of force to stop Islamic militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq.[441] In January 2018, Francis metYazidi refugees in Europe, expressed his support for their right to religious freedom, and called upon the international community "not to remain a silent and unresponsive spectator" to theYazidi genocide.[442]
In March 2021, Francis held ahistoric meeting with Iraq's topShi'ite cleric,Grand AyatollahAli al-Sistani, and visitedUr, a site traditionally identified as the birthplace of the prophetAbraham. He and the Iraqi cleric urged the Muslim and Christian communities to work together for peaceful coexistence.[444][445]
In September 2024, FrancisvisitedIndonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population,[446] where he attended inter-religious dialogue inIstiqlal Mosque in Jakarta and was welcomed by the Grand ImamNasaruddin Umar.[447] Francis and the Grand Imam additionally signed the Joint Declaration of Istiqlal 2024, underscoring that the values common to all religious traditions be effectively promoted to "defeat the culture of violence and indifference" and promote reconciliation and peace.[447] The declaration was also read and attended by representatives from other religions, includingProtestants,Hindus,Buddhists,Confucians, andFolk religions.[448]
Pope Francis was the first pontiff to participate in theG7, a meeting of leaders of the largest developed economies in the world. During his speech at the G7 forum in Italy, he stressed that humanity is in great danger due to the wars that are taking place such as the warsin Ukraine andin Gaza. He also stated that the excessive use ofartificial intelligence isposing a risk to jobs, and remarked on reproductive practices without specifically mentioningabortion.[449][450][451][452]
After the2017 Catalan independence referendum that originated the2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis on 1 October 2017, Francis communicated to the Spanish ambassador to the Holy See Gerardo Bugallo that the Vatican would not recognize secessionist or self-determination movements that were not the result of decolonization.[456]
Francis was frequently described as aprogressive orliberal moderate.[457] CommentatorWilliam Saletan described Francis as liberal and fundamentally anti-conservative in his analysis of Francis's first long interview after becoming pope, highlighting Francis's statements "God is to be encountered in the world of today" and "God manifests himself in historical revelation, in history".[458] Other have contested descriptions of Francis as liberal.[459] In 2014, the Vatican criticized some Italian news agencies, as well as theAgence France-Presse, for reporting that a comment Francis made was suggestive of an opening toward acceptance of same-sex marriage or civil unions; a Vatican spokesperson said the pope's remark was taken out of context.[460]
Important aspects of Francis's public image include "his recognizable humanity" and gestures of humility, as well as his efforts to preserve his autonomy amidRoman Curia bureaucracy.[461] He was a frequent user oflandline telephones; he reportedly had never owned a computer ormobile phone.[461] Shortly before his death, Francis donated most of his personal wealth, approximately €200,000, to support a pasta-making project at a youth prison in Rome.[462]
In December 2013, bothTime andThe Advocate magazines named Francis as their "Person of the Year";Esquire magazine named him as the "Best-dressed man" for 2013, citing his simpler vestments.[463]Rolling Stone magazine followed in January 2014 by making him their featured front cover.[464][465]Fortune magazine also ranked Francis as number one in their list of 50 greatest leaders.[466] He was included inForbes lists ofmost powerful people in the world in 2014[467] and 2016.[468]
In March 2013, a new song was dedicated to Francis and released in Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, and Italian, titledCome Puoi (How You Can).[128] A street inLa Plata, Argentina, was renamed Papa Francisco in his honor.[469] TheArgentine Chamber of Deputies passed legislation to mint acommemorative coin as a tribute to Francis in 2013.[470][471] As of 2013, sales of papal souvenirs, a sign of popularity, were up.[472]
Francis presided over his first joint public wedding ceremony in a Nuptial Mass for 20 couples from the Archdiocese of Rome on 14 September 2014, a few weeks before the start of 5–19 OctoberThird Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (the Synod on the Family).[473][e]
In 2016, Francis became the first pope to create anInstagram account.[475] He broke records after having gained over one million followers in under 12 hours of the account being up.[476] On 26 November 2020, Francis became the first pope to write an op-ed forThe New York Times, addressing issues such as COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and the need for global solidarity.[477][478]
Francis was a longtime supporter of the football clubSan Lorenzo de Almagro. When the Argentine club won the2014 Copa Libertadores, he received the team at his guest house near St. Peter's Square, where he was gifted a replica trophy and a glove of goalkeeper Sebastian Torrico.[479]
Health
Francis with then-President of IndonesiaJoko Widodo in September 2024. Francis had publicly used a wheelchair since 2022.
Elected at the age of 76, Francis was reported to be healthy; his doctors had said the lung tissue removed in his youth did not significantly affect his health.[480] The only concern would be decreased respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection.[481] The Pope had suffered from chronic lung damage, due in part to the lung excision he had as a young man. In the last few years of his life, he was prone to bouts ofinfluenza andbronchitis in the winter. Knee problems andsciatica prompted him to frequently use a wheelchair, walker, or cane.[482] In 2021, the Pope's health problems prompted rumors that he might resign,[483] which Francis dismissed.[484] In June 2022, after undergoing treatment to his knee, Francis canceled planned trips to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo andSouth Sudan.[485]
In March 2023, Francis was hospitalized in Rome with a respiratory infection.[486] He returned to celebrate theEaster Vigil Mass onHoly Saturday, in April.[487] In June, Francis underwent abdominal surgery after suffering from ahernia.[488] He acknowledged that his recurring mobility problems had precipitated the beginning of whatReuters termed "a new, slower phase of his papacy",[489] although he was praised by disabled Catholics for making his "disability part of his visible identity".[490]
In February 2025, Francis enteredGemelli Hospital in Rome due tobronchitis.[491] He remained for more than a month after developing a polymicrobial infection of his respiratory tract and bilateral pneumonia.[492][493][494]Vatican News described his condition ascritical and reported that he was givenblood transfusions andhigh-flow oxygen.[495][496] Eventually, Francis was put onmechanical ventilation for a number of days, and suffered two episodes of "acute respiratory insufficiency".[497] After the infection improved, he was discharged from the hospital on 23 March,[498] immediately after blessing a crowd from his balcony. He was expected to spend at least two months recuperating at his home inDomus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City,[499] maintaining a reduced work schedule.[500][501] He appeared in public for the first time since his hospitalization on 6 April.[494]
The pope's death began apapal interregnum and a nine-day period of mourning known as thenovendiales (Latin for 'nine days'). His funeral took place on 26 April 2025.[508] Cardinal electors arrived in Rome to attend the congregation ofcardinals and decided that 7 May 2025 shall be the start of theconclave set to elect Francis's successor.[509] On 8 May, Robert Francis Prevost, who was made a cardinal by Francis in 2023, was elected asPope Leo XIV.
Francis's spiritual testament, dated 29 June 2022, repeated his wish to be buried at theBasilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Upon his death, he was laid to rest there in accordance with his testament, becoming the first pope to be interred in the Santa Maria Maggiore sinceClement IX in 1669.[510][511] His testament ended:
May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.[511]
Legacy
Francis's papacy coincided with a period of widespread change and reckoning within the global Catholic order and within society at large. Throughout his papacy, he was noted for his support for the plight ofrefugees,migrants, and theimpoverished.[512] Since their beginnings, he had been outspoken in his criticism of the wars inUkraine,Sudan,Gaza,DR Congo, andMyanmar, notwithstanding numerous other conflicts and acts of suppression against the civilian population globally.[513][514][515] He appointed more than 80% of thecardinals thatelected his successor, notably reducing the European share of theCollege of Cardinals from a majority to a plurality.[516][517] He was celebrated for his outreach toChina and theAfrican continent, his tolerance towards differing faith communities, and his attention to younger Catholic adherents and the changing nature of the faith.[513][518] Additionally, he formalized the church's policy of opposition to thedeath penalty in all cases.[519][520][516]
Under his papacy, he maintained the prohibition ofwomen being ordained clergy, or being appointed to theCollege of Bishops and theCardinals. However, Francis made significant strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior and central administration of the church.[521][516][522] He was the first to grant them voting rights within theSynod of Bishops, and increased their presence in functions and institutions of the Church that had previously been restricted to or dominated by men.[251][523] He has nonetheless been criticized by some as having only produced reform within existing frameworks of gender division within the Catholic Church, doing little to advance serious, radical reform of its institutions to ensure an ideal of inclusion and parity.[521]
He set himself apart from other Popes inupholding the Church's departure from theTridentine Mass, which had only beenloosely enforced by both predecessors whose reign occurred after the institution of thereforms of theSecond Vatican Council.[375][524][516][525] Though it was not banned outright during his tenure, he nonetheless greatly increased Vatican oversight over the facilitation of the ritual, and restricted the right of new priests to engage in the practice. These policies were controversial amongtraditionalist Catholics.[525][526]
In 2022, he issued the first apology by the Vatican for its role in thecultural erasure and forced assimilation ofFirst Nations peoples inCanada from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.[527] His endorsement of the conditional blessing of same-sex couples earned him praise from many progressive outlets within and outside the Church. Some groups, though, have been critical of the extent of histolerance on various LGBTQ issues, particularly the question of his acceptance oftransgender identity and his answer to the larger issue ofhomosexuality,queer identity, andsin.[528][529][522] The progressive stances he held drew significant criticism from conservative elements within the college.[516]
Distinctions
Titles and styles
The official form of address of the Pope in English wasHis Holiness Pope Francis.Holy Father was among the otherhonorifics used for popes.[530]
Philippines: The Pope Francis Center for the Poor –Palo, Leyte (12 July 2015)[544]
South Sudan: "H.H. Pope Francis Road" inJuba was inaugurated by PresidentSalva Kiir days before his2023 visit to the country. The President said, "the road was named after the Holy Father as a gift by South Sudanese to Pope Francis."[545]
Ennio Morricone composed a Mass setting (Missa Papae Francisci) named after the Pope for the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Jesuit order. The performance aired onRai 5 and was attended by former Italian presidentGiorgio Napolitano and other dignitaries.[546][547][548]
The composerLudger Stühlmeyer dedicated his workKlangrede – Sonnengesang desFranziskus, for choir (SATB) and instruments – to Pope Francis (Suae Sanctitati Papae Francisci dedicat). First performance: Capella Mariana 4 October 2015.[549]
Pope Francis's initialgrant of arms by theHoly See was asArchbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was Cardinal Bergoglio, in which the depiction of the star and spikenard weretincturedargent. Following his election aspope, these are now tincturedor. The first version of Francis's coat of arms released by theVatican Press Office depicted a five-pointed star from Bergoglio's archiepiscopal version, but his coat of arms upon election as pope assumed an eight-pointed star, with the depiction of the spikenard also being suitably differenced.[123]
Azure on a sun in splendour or theIHS Christogram ensigned with across pattée fiché piercing theH gules all above three nails fanwise points to center sable, and in dexter base amullet of eight points and in sinister base aspikenard flower or.[553]
Motto
MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO (Latin for 'By giving mercy and by choosing')
Jesuit emblem : Emblem of theSociety of Jesus, in reference to Francis being a Jesuit. Thischarge displays a radiating sun within which is themonogram of theHoly Name of Jesus in red, with a red cross surmounting theH and three black nails below the H.[122]
Eight-pointed star : A long-standing symbol of theVirgin Mary.
Spikenard : The spikenard flower representsSaint Joseph; inHispanic iconographic tradition Saint Joseph is often depicted holding a branch of spikenard.[554]
^Press reports have provided a variety of translations for the phrase. According toVatican Radio: "Pope Francis has chosen the mottoMiserando atque eligendo, meaning 'lowly but chosen'; literally in Latin 'by having mercy, by choosing him'. The motto is one Francis used as bishop. It is taken from the homilies of theVenerable Bede onSaint Matthew's Gospel relating to his vocation: 'Jesus saw the tax collector and by having mercy chose him as an apostle saying to him: Follow me.'"[1]
^John Paul I, elected in 1978, took a new combination of already used names, in honor of his two immediate predecessors,John XXIII andPaul VI.[162]
^Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI did not do this during his eight-year papacy from 2005 to 2013; his predecessor,Pope John Paul II, married a group of couples from all over the world in 2000, as part of the Jubilee for Families, and before that in 1994 during the church's Year of the Family, as well as presiding over a number of private marriages as pope.[474]
^Antoinette Radford; Maureen Chowdhury; Christopher Lamb; Christian Edwards; Issy Ronald; Aditi Sangal; Elise Hammond (21 April 2025)."Live updates on the death of Pope Francis".CNN. Retrieved22 April 2025.
^Holanda, Helládio (24 May 2019).People's Pope (in European Portuguese). Clube de Autores (managed).Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved19 October 2020.
^abcIvereigh, Austen (2014).The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope (First ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Company.ISBN978-1-250-07499-7.OCLC889324005.
^abc"Neuigkeiten 14.03".Hochschule. Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen.Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved14 March 2013....einige Monate in Sankt Georgen verbrachte, um sich mit einzelnen Professoren über ein Dissertationsprojekt zu beraten. Zu einem Abschluss in Sankt Georgen ist es nicht gekommen.
^abc"Bergoglio, Jorge Mario".Breve biografía de obispos (in Spanish). La Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina. Archived fromthe original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved15 March 2013.
^Hebblethwaite, Margaret (14 March 2013)."The Pope Francis I know".The Guardian. London, England.Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved16 March 2013.Luro talked to me at length about her friend, of whom she has the highest opinion, and told me how she would write to him almost weekly, and he would always reply by ringing her up and having a short chat. When Podesta was dying, Bergoglio was the only Catholic cleric who went to visit him in hospital, and, when he died, the only one who showed public recognition of his great contribution to the Argentinian church.
^Sergio Rubin, "Regresó la misa en latín, con mujeres cubiertas por mantillas".Clarin. (17 September 2007).Archived.Archived 25 September 2019 at theWayback Machine.
^"Synodus Episcoporum Bulletin". Holy See Press Office. 30 September – 27 October 2001.Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved14 March 2013.
^Allen, John L. Jr. (14 April 2005)."Handicapping the conclave".National Catholic Reporter.Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved15 March 2013.
^Tosatti, Marco."Ecco come andò davvero il Conclave del 2005".La Stampa (in Italian).Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved30 January 2017. According to the source, Cardinal Bergoglio begged "almost in tears" ("quasi in lacrime" in Italian)
^Pablo Javier Blanco (17 March 2013)."Dias inolvidables para su biógrafo" [Unforgettable days for his biographer].El Papa del fin del mundo (in Spanish). Clarín.Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved13 March 2013.
^"Franciscus". Holy See. 13 March 2013. Archived fromthe original on 15 March 2013.Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Georgium MariumSanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum
^His exact words were "Voi sapete che il dovere del conclave era di dare un vescovo a Roma. Sembra che i miei fratelli cardinali siano andati a prenderlo quasi alla fine del mondo, ma siamo qui", i.e. "You know that it was the conclave's duty to choose a bishop for Rome. It seems that my cardinal brothers went for it almost at the end of the world. And here we are."
^In:Offenbarungen – Tage Neuer Kirchenmusik. Begleitheft, München 2015, S. 15.
^Pardiñas, U. F. J.; Teta, P.; Salazar-Bravo, J.; Myers, P.; Galliari, C. A. (2016). "A new species of arboreal rat, genus 'Oecomys' (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Chaco".Journal of Mammalogy.97 (4):1177–1196.doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyw070.hdl:11336/36873.
Allen, John L. (2015).The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church. New York:Time.ISBN978-1-61893-131-3.
Borghesi, Massimo (2018) [Italian original, 2017].The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio's Intellectual Journey. Translated by Hudock, Barry. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.ISBN978-0-8146-8790-1.
Castagnaro, Mauro; Eugenio, Ludovica (2013).Il Dissenso Soffocato: un'agenda per Papa Francesco [Dissent Stifled: an agenda for Pope Francis]. Molfetta, Italy: La Meridiana.ISBN978-88-6153-324-0.
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