Francis was the first Jesuit pope. This was a significant appointment because of the sometimes tense relations between the Society of Jesus and the
Holy See. He was also the first from
Latin America, and the first from the
Southern Hemisphere. Many media reported him as being the first non-European pope, but he was the 11th; the previous was
Gregory III from Syria who died in 741. Although Francis was not born in Europe, he was
ethnically European; his father and maternal grandparents were from northern Italy. 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". 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. The next day, he visited Cardinal
Jorge María Mejía in the hospital and chatted with patients and staff. In addition to his
native 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 (the
official language of the Holy See), French, Portuguese, and English; he also understood
Piedmontese and some
Genoese Ligurian. Francis chose not to live in the official
papal residence in the
Apostolic Palace but instead remained in the
Vatican guest house in a suite in which he received visitors and held meetings. He was the first pope since
Pope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments. Francis appeared at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday
Angelus. 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).
Election Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013, the second day of the
2013 papal conclave, after which he took the
papal name Francis. Francis was elected on the fifth ballot. The announcement was delivered by the
cardinal protodeacon,
Jean-Louis Tauran. Cardinal
Christoph 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". Instead of accepting his cardinals' congratulations while seated on the
papal throne, Francis received them standing, reportedly an immediate sign of a changing approach to formalities at the Vatican. During his first appearance as pontiff on the balcony of
Saint Peter's Basilica, he wore a white
cassock, instead of the red, ermine-trimmed
mozzetta used by previous popes. He also wore the same iron
pectoral cross that he had worn as archbishop of Buenos Aires, rather than the gold one worn by his predecessors. After being elected and choosing his name, his first act was bestowing the blessing on thousands of pilgrims gathered in
St. 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. Francis held his
papal inauguration on 19 March 2013 in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, Francis focused on the
Solemnity of Saint Joseph, the liturgical day on which the Mass was celebrated. The next day,
Federico Lombardi told to the media that Francis had met all the cardinals in the
Sistine Chapel choosing to stand up, rather than sitting on the chair at his disposal, and that he went back to the 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.
Name , two months after his election At his first audience on 16 March 2013, Francis told journalists that he had chosen the name in honor of
Saint Francis of Assisi and had done so because he was especially concerned for the well-being of the poor. He explained that, as it was becoming clear during the conclave voting that he would be elected, the Brazilian Cardinal
Cláudio Hummes had embraced him and whispered, "Don't forget the poor", which made Bergoglio think of the saint. 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." 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, no
regnal number was used for him. If there is a Francis II, then Francis will be known as Francis I. Bergoglio, had he been elected in 2005, would have chosen the pontifical name of "John XXIV" in honor of
John XXIII. He told Cardinal
Francesco Marchisano: "John, I would have called myself John, like the Good Pope; I would have been completely inspired by him."
Curia 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. He also abolished the €25,000 annual bonus paid to cardinals serving on the Board of Supervisors for the
Vatican bank. On 13 April 2013, Francis named eight cardinals to a new
Council 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.
Early issues On the first
Holy 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 them
the ritual of foot washing is a sign that he is at their service. This was the first time that a pope had included women in this ritual, although he had already done so when he was archbishop. 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. In 2013, Francis initially reaffirmed the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's programme to
reform the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious 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 the
sisters' 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.
Synodal church , Ecuador, 2015|254x254px Francis oversaw synods on
the family (2014), on
youth (2018), and on
the church in the Amazon region (2019). In 2019 Francis's apostolic constitution '''' 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. Some analysts see the creation of a truly synodal church as likely to become the greatest contribution to Francis's papacy. On 4 October 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of the
Synod on Synodality, described by some as the culmination of his papacy and one of the most important events in the Church since the
Second Vatican Council. There had long been allegations of corruption and
money laundering connected with the bank. Francis appointed a commission to advise him about reform of the Bank, 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. 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. There was uncertainty about how far reforms could succeed.
Writings Pope Francis wrote a variety of books,
encyclicals, and other texts, including a memoir,
Hope. On 29 June 2013, Francis published the encyclical '
, which was largely the work of Benedict XVI but awaited a final draft at his retirement. On 24 November 2013, Francis published his first major letter as pope, the apostolic exhortation ', which he described as the programmatic of his papacy. On 18 June 2015, he published his first own encyclical '''' concerning care for the planet. On 8 April 2016, Francis published his second apostolic exhortation, , 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. A further apostolic exhortation, (
Rejoice and be glad), was published on 19 March 2018, dealing with "the
call to holiness" for all persons. He counters contemporary versions of the
gnostic and
Pelagian heresies and describes how Jesus's beatitudes call people to "go against the flow". In February 2019, Francis acknowledged that priests and bishops were sexually abusing
religious sisters. He addressed this and the
clergy sex abuse scandal by convening a summit on clergy sexual abuse in February 2019. As a follow-up to that summit, on 9 May 2019 Francis
promulgated the which specified responsibilities, including reporting directly to the Holy See on bishops and on one's superior, while simultaneously involving another bishop in the
archdiocese of the accused bishop. On 4 October 2020, Francis published the encyclical '''' on fraternity and social friendship. On 8 December 2020, on the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis published the
apostolic letter ("With a Father's Heart"). 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 of
Saint Joseph as
Patron of the
Universal Church. On 1 June 2021, Francis published the apostolic constitution ''''. 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.
Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue postage stamp commemorating the pastoral visit of Francis to Azerbaijan on 2 October 2016. Pope Francis upheld the Second Vatican Council's tradition by promoting
ecumenism with other
Christian denominations, encouraging dialogue with other religions, and supporting peace with secular individuals.
Clerical titles In January 2014, Francis said that he would appoint fewer
monsignors and only assign those honored to the lowest of the three surviving ranks of monsignor,
chaplain of His Holiness; it would be awarded only to
diocesan 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.
Canonizations, beatifications and doctors of the church Francis presided over the first canonizations of his pontificate on 12 May 2013 in which he canonized the
Martyrs of Otranto—Antonio Primaldo and his 812 companions who had been
executed by the Ottomans in 1480—as well as the
religious sisters Laura of St. Catherine of Siena and
María Guadalupe García Zavala. In this first canonization, Francis surpassed the
record of Pope John Paul II in canonizing the most saints in a pontificate. Saints the Pope canonized include
Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin (the first married couple to be named as saints together),
Mother Teresa, and
Óscar Romero. Francis canonized three of his predecessors: John XXIII, John Paul II and Paul VI. and
Blessed. Francis declared two new
Doctors of the Church:
Saint Gregory of Narek in 2015, and
Saint Irenaeus of Lyon in 2022.
Consistories Francis created 163 cardinals from 76 countries across ten
consistories. He held his first consistory in February 2014, a rare occasion in which he publicly appeared with his predecessor, Benedict XVI. After the 2024 consistory, 110 cardinals appointed by Francis were under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote at a
papal conclave. There were, at that point, 110 cardinal-electors created by Francis, 24 created by Benedict XVI, and six created by John Paul II. Francis's appointments made the
College of Cardinals less European-dominated. He appointed many cardinals from
developing countries, including some of the world's poorest, and from countries on the peripheries of the church. Compared to his predecessors, Francis made fewer appointments of
Roman Curia officials to the cardinalate. Compared to his predecessor Benedict, who preferred to appoint academically inclined churchmen as cardinal, Francis favored cardinals with a more pastoral focus, Francis also dropped the traditional custom of always appointing the archbishops of certain historically prominent
sees (such as the
Patriarch of Venice and
Archbishop of Milan) as cardinals. The
Holy 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. 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's
Apostolic Penitentiary.
COVID-19 pandemic During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Francis canceled
his regular general audiences at St. Peter's Square to keep crowds from gathering and spreading the virus, which had
seriously affected Italy. He encouraged priests to visit patients and health workers; urged the faithful not to forget the poor during the time of crisis; offered prayers for people with the virus in China; and invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title
Salus Populi Romani, as the
Diocese of Rome observed a period of prayer and fasting in recognition of the victims. 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. Despite
Italy being under a quarantine lockdown, Francis pleaded "not to leave the ... people alone" and worked to partially reverse the closures. On 20 March 2020, Francis asked the
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) to create a
Vatican COVID-19 Commission to listen to concerns and develop responses for the future. On 27 March, Francis gave an extraordinary benediction . In his homily on
calming the storm in the
Gospel of Mark, Francis described the setting: 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'. Francis maintained that getting
COVID-19 vaccination was a moral obligation. In response to the
economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis said that it was the time to consider implementing a
universal basic wage.
Death penalty Francis committed the
Catholic Church to support worldwide abolition of the death penalty. In 2018, Francis revised the
Catechism of the Catholic Church to read that "in the light of the
Gospel" the death penalty is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and
dignity of the person" and that the Catholic Church "works with determination for its abolition worldwide". In his 2020 encyclical '''', Francis repeated that the death penalty was "inadmissible", and that "there can be no stepping back from this position."
Role of women Francis categorically rejected the
ordination of women as priests. Its report was not made public, but Francis said in 2019 that the commission was unable to come to a consensus. In April 2020, Francis empaneled a new commission, led by Cardinal
Giuseppe Petrocchi with a new membership, to study the issue. Francis delayed a decision on the issue for several years. The following month, Francis appointed women to several positions previously held only by men: a French member of the
Xaviere Missionary Sisters,
Nathalie Becquart, was appointed co-undersecretary of the
Synod of Bishops, and Italian magistrate
Catia Summaria became the first woman Promoter of Justice in the Vatican's Court of Appeals. In April 2023, Francis announced that 35 women would be allowed to vote at the
Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops ("just over 10%" of all voters), marking the first time women are allowed to vote at any Catholic Synod of Bishops.
Financial corruption 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.
Apologies toward Indigenous peoples Early in 2022, Francis expressed "shame and sorrow" for the Catholic Church's role in abuses against the
Indigenous peoples in Canada. Later, in July 2022, Francis
made an apostolic journey to
Canada, where he expressed sorrow, indignation, and shame over the church's abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in
residential schools. Francis described the
Canadian Catholic Church's role as a "
cultural genocide". Early in his papacy, Francis chose a more lenient sentence for Mauro Inzoli, an Italian priest accused of child sexual abuse. A church tribunal had ruled that Inzoli should be
laicized (defrocked), and he was defrocked in 2012 by Francis's predecessor Benedict. 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, and
Cristián Caro. In 2019, Francis defrocked
Theodore McCarrick, a former
archbishop 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. In July 2018, McCarrick resigned from the
College of Cardinals; in October 2018, Francis ordered a review of the Church's "institutional knowledge and decision-making" related to McCarrick. Francis authorized the release, in November 2020, of the report of the Vatican's two-year investigation into McCarrick's career. 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. 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. In November 2022, French Cardinal
Jean-Pierre Ricard admitted to having sexually abused a 14-year-old girl in the 1980s in
Marseille. 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". Francis did not deprive Ricard of his status and privileges as a cardinal.
Francis visited Ireland in 2018, marking the first papal tour of the country since
John Paul II's historic trip in 1979. He has apologized for sexual abuses by clergy in the United States and Ireland. The case of
Slovenian priest
Marko 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. Initially, the
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) declined to prosecute, citing the statute of limitations, despite acknowledging there was a case to answer. Rupnik was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 2023 for disobedience rather than for the abuse allegations and was later incardinated into the
Diocese of Koper. Following widespread public outcry, Pope Francis ordered the case to be reopened and re-examined. After his conviction, Rupnik preached in 2020 a
Lenten meditation for priests working in the
Roman Curia, including Pope Francis and
Luis Ladaria Ferrer, and met privately with Pope Francis in January 2022. In January 2025, Cardinal
Víctor Manuel Fernández confirmed the DDF was working to establish an independent tribunal to move forward with judicial proceedings. ==Theological emphases and teachings==