Michael Brooks
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American pope, and the first pope from outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III. Pope Francis has attracted non-Catholics due to his ability to relate and resonate with non-followers of the religion. He has been noted for his support for refugees, migrants, and the impoverished, and has changed the Catholic Church's teachings in areas such as the death penalty and nuclear weapons. He has also made inroads with Muslims and other believers who felt marginalized by the Church.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Popularity among non-Catholics | High |
| Firsts | First Jesuit pope, first Latin American pope, first pope born outside Europe since the 8th century |
| Support for marginalized groups | Support for refugees, migrants, the impoverished, and women in the church |
| Progressive views | Support for gay couples, divorced Catholics, and changes to the death penalty |
| Communication style | "Relaxed" speaking style, vague phrasing, extreme clarity when reprimanding |
| Political views | Anti-war, anti-communist, anti-euthanasia |
| Environmental views | First pope to use scientific data to support the existence of global warming |
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What You'll Learn
- Pope Francis is the first pope from Latin America
- He has improved the Catholic Church's relationship with Muslims
- He has been criticised for being vague in his speeches
- He has made significant strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior administration of the church
- He is the first Jesuit pope
Pope Francis is the first pope from Latin America
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936, was the first pope from Latin America. He was elected on 13 March 2013, and his papacy ended with his death on 21 April 2025. He was also the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since Gregory III, who died in 741. Although Francis was not born in Europe, he was ethnically European, with his father and maternal grandparents hailing from northern Italy.
Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1969 and served as the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina from 1973 to 1979. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope. He chose the name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. As the first Latin American pope, Francis symbolically recognised the part of the world where Catholicism was growing the fastest. His election also reflected the unorthodox background that many hoped would help rejuvenate the Vatican and reinvigorate its holy mission.
During his papacy, Pope Francis was noted for his support for refugees, migrants, and the impoverished. He was outspoken in his criticism of wars in various regions, including Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar. He took a conciliatory approach toward the People's Republic of China, and he mediated between the Israeli and Palestinian presidents, bringing them together to pray for peace. He also continued the Vatican's longstanding diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
Pope Francis made strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior and central administration of the church, granting them voting rights within the Synod of Bishops. However, he upheld the ban on women becoming priests, joining the Diaconate, or being appointed to the College of Bishops or Cardinals. In terms of doctrine, he relaxed disciplinary rules, allowing progressive bishops and countries to introduce changes like the blessing of same-sex couples and the admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to communion.
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He has improved the Catholic Church's relationship with Muslims
Pope Francis has improved the Catholic Church's relationship with Muslims through his emphasis on interfaith dialogue and collaboration. He prioritised direct action and personal engagement, framing his efforts around the "culture of encounter". This approach, inspired by the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 7, encouraged individuals to embody Jesus by "not just seeing, but looking; not just hearing, but listening; not just passing people by, but stopping with them". During his papacy, Pope Francis participated in numerous interfaith summits and encounters, making time on nearly every Apostolic Visit to meet with leaders of other religions.
In 2019, Pope Francis became the first Pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, specifically the United Arab Emirates. There, he celebrated a historic Catholic Mass in Zayed Sports City, drawing 180,000 attendees from over 100 countries. This event challenged negative Western stereotypes about the Arabian Peninsula's religious intolerance. During his visit, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed El-Tayeb, co-signed the "Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together", also known as the Abu Dhabi Declaration. This document was an appeal to reject violence and extremism and to promote tolerance and fraternity among religions.
In 2021, Pope Francis visited Iraq, becoming the first Pope to do so. During his visit, he met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslims. He prayed for the victims of the conflict in Mosul and called for harmonious coexistence between Christians and Muslims. He also invited displaced Christians to return to their homes and praised young Iraqi Christian and Muslim volunteers working together to rebuild churches and mosques destroyed by IS. In Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, a prophet revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Pope Francis convened an interreligious gathering, further fostering dialogue and understanding between the faiths.
Pope Francis also travelled to Indonesia in 2024, the country with the largest Muslim population worldwide. At the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the world's largest mosque, Pope Francis and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar signed the Joint Declaration of Istiqlal 2024 on Fostering Religious Harmony for the Sake of Humanity. This declaration called for collaboration among religious leaders to address the serious crises of dehumanisation and climate change facing the world.
Pope Francis's efforts to improve Catholic-Muslim relations extended beyond his travels. He had a close friendship with Rabbi Abraham Skorka in Argentina and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb. He frequently visited synagogues and condemned anti-Semitism. He also wrote an encyclical, Fratelli tutti, dedicated to Sheikh Al-Tayyeb, which focused on the theme of fraternity. Pope Francis's commitment to interfaith dialogue and collaboration with Muslims has been a hallmark of his papacy and has contributed to improved relations between the Catholic Church and the Muslim world.
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He has been criticised for being vague in his speeches
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit, Latin American, and Southern Hemisphere pope, has been criticised for being vague in his speeches. Some people find his relaxed speaking style alarming, as it gives heterodox Catholics the impression that the Church will reverse some traditional beliefs. For instance, his support for progressive bishops and countries introducing changes like blessing same-sex couples.
Pope Francis has been accused of using scripture to promote personal viewpoints, passing them off as viewpoints that all Catholics must hold. He has been described as having "zero tolerance for conflicting viewpoints" and "outright disdain for small-t tradition". His speeches can be interpreted in various ways, allowing politically progressive people to interpret them as they wish.
One example of this is his stance on same-sex marriage. While he has not outright supported it, his vague language has led some to believe that he is more accepting of it than other Catholic leaders. This has caused confusion and concern among more conservative Catholics.
In addition, Pope Francis has been criticised for his treatment of traditional Catholics. While he speaks vaguely when addressing progressive issues, he speaks with extreme clarity when reprimanding those he considers "rigid". This has led to accusations of hypocrisy and favouritism within the Catholic community.
Despite these criticisms, Pope Francis has attracted non-Catholics with his emphasis on charity, service, and love for one another. He has played a key role in restoring diplomatic relations, such as between the US and Cuba, and has been an outspoken supporter of refugees, migrants, and the impoverished. His ability to relate to and resonate with non-Catholics has been praised, and even those hurt by the Church or who disagree with its teachings have reacted positively to him.
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He has made significant strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior administration of the church
Pope Francis has made significant strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior administration of the church. While he has consistently maintained the Catholic teaching that the priesthood is reserved for men, he believes that women are highly capable of participating directly in the Church, especially in an "administrative way". He has said that women make better managers than men and has taken steps to increase their presence in functions and institutions of the Church that had previously been restricted to or dominated by men.
During his papacy, the role of women in the church emerged as a pressing priority, with Catholics across the globe calling for change. Pope Francis listened and broke important glass ceilings in the Vatican when it came to appointing female leaders to senior positions. He chose to make gradual changes that, to the outside, may have seemed like small steps, but were huge leaps to those on the inside.
One of the most notable appointments was that of Franciscan religious sister Raffaella Petrini as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and governor of Vatican City State, making her the first woman to ever hold the position. Petrini, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, replaced Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in the role. She has both academic and administrative experience, with a degree in political science and a doctorate in social sciences. In her new role, she reports directly to the pope and manages the Vatican budget and finance.
Pope Francis has also appointed women to other senior roles in the Vatican, including the first woman leader of a department in the church's central administration and the first female president of the office governing the Vatican City State. He chose the first women to sit at the board level in the church's central administration, including at the influential department for choosing bishops. By 2023, 10 years into his pontificate, the percentage of women in the Vatican workforce had risen from 19.2% to 23.4%.
In addition to these appointments, Pope Francis has given women the power to vote for the first time at a major global gathering of bishops and has expanded canon law to allow for all laypeople, including women and girls, to be installed as lectors and acolytes. He has also acknowledged the Church's "fair share of male authoritarianism" and suggested that the Church should support women's "legitimate claims" for justice and rights.
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He is the first Jesuit pope
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the first Jesuit pope. He was elected on 13 March 2013, and his papacy ended with his death on 21 April 2025.
The Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, are an order of priests, brothers, and novices who follow the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th-century Spanish soldier-turned-priest. Jesuits are known for their intensive education, contemplative spirituality, and variety of vocations. They are also famous for their openness, which is rooted in the spiritual practice developed by St. Ignatius, known as the Spiritual Exercises. This is a guide to spiritual development that encourages participants to pay attention to the inner movements of the spirit or soul that shape their decisions and actions.
Pope Francis's longstanding identity as a Jesuit priest shapes almost everything he does. His Jesuit training is reflected in his pastoral style of governance. For example, one of his first actions as pope was to name a council of eight cardinals from around the world. He also lives simply, rejecting the traditional papal apartments to live in a small community inside a Vatican guest house.
Pope Francis's election as the first Jesuit pope was significant because of the sometimes tense relations between the Society of Jesus and the Holy See. Jesuits are explicitly discouraged from becoming bishops, much less pope. They are known for their openness, which has been a source of controversy, with some viewing it as a sign of liberalism. However, Pope Francis's "openness" does not necessarily translate to "liberal-ness". While he has been criticised for his vagueness in speaking, he has also been praised for his willingness to dispense with centuries of closely guarded tradition.
Frequently asked questions
Pope Francis has been well-liked by non-Catholics, which is meaningful as he is the global head of the Catholic faith. While the reasons for his popularity among non-Catholics are not clear, it is promising for diplomacy and religious dialogue.
Pope Francis has changed the Catholic Church's teaching in areas such as the death penalty and nuclear weapons. He has also made inroads with Muslims and believers who felt marginalised. He has been noted for his support for refugees, migrants, and the impoverished.
Pope Francis made significant strides towards increasing women's presence in the senior and central administration of the Church. He was the first to grant them voting rights within the Synod of Bishops. However, he has been criticised for not doing enough to advance serious, radical reform to ensure an ideal of inclusion and parity.
Pope Francis has been perceived as supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. He famously said, “Who am I to judge?” when asked about a Vatican monsignor who was purportedly gay. He also allowed blessings for same-sex couples and the admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to communion.
Pope Francis was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American pope, and the first pope born and raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope, Gregory III.
