Wisdom of Pope Francis: Key quotes that define his Papacy

Pope Francis died on the age of 88 (Image: AP)

After a chronic sickness, Pope Francis handed away on Easter Monday, April 21, on the age of 88 at his residence within the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. His demise got here only a day after he delighted the crowds of worshippers on the Vatican on Easter Sunday with an look on the balcony at Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Francis was identified for his humble nature, empathy for the poor and was an ardent supporter of atmosphere conservation. The legacy of Pope Francis is mirrored in the important thing quotes he delivered on quite a few events.
Humility:
The Pope’s modesty was mirrored in his easy phrases throughout a homily at Casa Santa Marta on January 23, 2015: “Your sins are nice? Just inform the Lord: Forgive me, assist me to stand up once more, change my coronary heart!’”
The poor:
Pope Francis used to call refugees as ‘nobles of the street’. Three days after his election in March 2013, he said, “How I would really like a poor church for the poor” setting the tone for his papacy.
Tolerance:
The Pope has consistently taken an inclusive approach toward the LGBTQ community. Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Brazil on July 29, 2013, when asked about his views on LGBTQ individuals, he said, “If somebody is homosexual and is looking for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to evaluate? We shouldn’t marginalize folks for this. They have to be built-in into society.”
Inequality:
Pope Francis has consistently spoken against inequality, viewing it as the root cause of social and economic problems. In the Apostolic Exhortation, a magisterial document written by him, he asserted, “The worship of the traditional golden calf has returned in a brand new and ruthless guise within the idolatry of cash and the dictatorship of an impersonal financial system missing a very human function”.
Environment:
Pope Francis asserted on environment conservation viewing it as the matter to be addressed quickly. A prominent quote from his June 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si says, “The Earth, our residence, is starting to look increasingly like an immense pile of filth”.
Developing world:
Pope Francis in his encyclical, Laudato Si, emphasizes that despite possessing rich and relatively unpolluted land, the poor in the south face obstacles in meeting their vital needs since they have no control over their resources. He quoted, “The land of the southern poor is wealthy and principally unpolluted, but entry to possession of items and sources for assembly important wants is inhibited by a system of business relations and possession which is structurally perverse.”
Migrants:
Speaking out against the world’s indifference to the plight of migrants, Pope Francis, during his visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa in July 2013, said: “In this world of globalisation we have now fallen right into a globalisation of indifference. We are accustomed to the struggling of others, it does not concern us, it is none of our enterprise.”
Old Europe:
During his visit to the European Parliament in November 2014, Pope addressed, “We encounter a normal impression of weariness and ageing, of a Europe which is now a ‘grandmother’, not fertile and vibrant”.
Church reform:
During his Christmas address to the Roman Curia (Vatican’s administrative body), the Pope criticized the Vatican bureaucracy stating, “A Curia that shouldn’t be self-critical, that doesn’t keep up-to-date, that doesn’t search to higher itself, is an ailing physique… It is the illness of the wealthy idiot who thinks he’ll stay for all eternity.”
Donald Trump:
In February 2016, after his return from Mexico, the pontiff said, “Anyone, whoever he’s, who solely desires to construct partitions and never bridges shouldn’t be a Christian,” when asked about the then-US presidential hopeful’s anti-immigration stance.
After Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, Francis condemned the president’s migrant deportation plans as a “calamity” and a “main disaster”.
Mercy:
During the commemoration of the Jubilee year of Mercy in November 2016,the Pope allowed all priests to forgive the sin of abortion. He said, “There isn’t any sin that God’s mercy can’t attain and wipe away when it finds a repentant coronary heart looking for to be reconciled with the Father.”
Common touch:
In an episode of a Catholic TV2000 television programme aired in October 2017, he said, “When I pray, typically I go to sleep”. Every Sunday after leading the Angelus prayer, he wished the crowd: “Buon pranzo”, i.e., have a great lunch.
Vaccines:
During the covid pandemic, Pope Francis urged folks to get the coronavirus vaccine in early 2021, saying those that opposed it had been in “suicidal denial”.
The quotes cited by Pope Francis enshrines us with his phrases of knowledge. These highly effective quotes don’t solely replicate the essence of his papacy but additionally supply his legacy in compassion, humility, and ethical readability.