Pope Francis I Quotes

#1. I have very good relations with Pope Francis. I read constantly what he says and follow his speeches. Pope Francis has come to renew the Catholic Church, and he has new air to renew the spiritual world. Now, Venezuela does not need mediation.

Nicolas Maduro

#2. I think Pope Francis is our Pope Francis. I mean, the point of him is that he's a global leader, and he's trying, I think he's embracing that role.

Naomi Oreskes

#3. Around us there is the presence of evil. The devil is at work. But in a loud voice I say: GOD IS STRONGER.

Pope Francis

#4. Human dignity is the same for all human beings: when I trample on the dignity of another, I am trampling on my own.

Pope Francis

#5. To be faithful, to be creative, we need to be able to change. To change! And why must I change? So that I can adapt to the situations in which I must proclaim the Gospel. To stay close to God, we need to know how to set out; we must not be afraid to set out.

Pope Francis

#6. If I'm not mistaken, Sigmund Freud said that in every idealisation there's an aggression. Depicting the Pope as a sort of Superman, a star, is offensive to me. The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps calmly and has friends like everyone else. A normal person.

Pope Francis

#7. I believe that Catholics involved in politics carry the values of their religion within them, but have the mature awareness and expertise to implement them. The Church will never go beyond its task of expressing and disseminating its values, at least as long as I'm here.

Pope Francis

#8. [Pope Francis] is a humble man. He lives the faith out in his own personal life ... He's here to be a shepherd; he isn't here to be a scold. I think that's a good thing for the church and for the world, frankly.

Rick Santorum

#9. I pray every day for all who are suffering in Iraq. Please join me.

Pope Francis

#10. I was studying Francis of Assisi for quite some time, when Benedict was still the pope. And I was studying it for a song that I did for my last album, 'Banga.'

Patti Smith

#11. I would like a more missionary church,Not so much a tranquil church, but a beautiful church that goes forward.

Pope Francis

#12. I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!

Pope Francis

#13. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance, says Jesus. This is where true wealth is found, not in material things!

Pope Francis

#14. As one would expect, the Pope's schedule is quite disciplined - he wakes up at four o'clock each morning and runs on the treadmill for an hour. I'm totally kidding. Nobody's knees have time for that.

Jared Brock

#15. My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative. I have never been a right-winger. It was my authoritarian way of making decisions that created problems.

Pope Francis

#16. It might be better - more comfortable - to have a dog and two cats. All the love is focused on the cats and the dog. Am I right or wrong here? Have you seen it? At the end of this marriage, comes old age and loneliness.

Pope Francis

#17. I entered the diocesan seminary. I liked the Dominicans, and I had Dominican friends. But then I chose the Society of Jesus, which I knew well because the seminary was entrusted to the Jesuits. Three things in particular struck me about the Society: the missionary spirit, community and discipline.

Pope Francis

#18. Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits - but no.

Pope Francis

#19. Dearest brothers and sisters who are so persecuted, I know how much you suffer, I know that you are stripped of everything. I am with you in the faith of the one who has conquered evil!

Pope Francis

#20. If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence.

Pope Francis

#21. When I was a seminarian, I was dazzled by a girl I met at an uncle's wedding. I was surprised by her beauty, her intellectual brilliance ... and, well, I was bowled over for quite a while.

Pope Francis

#22. And now I would like to give the blessing, but first - first I ask a favor of you: before the Bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop.

Pope Francis

#23. I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not right or true.

Pope Francis

#24. I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.

Pope Francis

#25. If, hypothetically, Western Catholicism were to review the issue of celibacy, I think it would do so for cultural reasons, not so much as a universal option.

Pope Francis

#26. I want to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by a strong earthquake, and I invite you to pray for that dear nation, which in recent days has suffered different calamities.

Pope Francis

#27. When I confess a couple who have kids, a married couple, I ask, 'how many children do you have?' Some get worried and think the priest will ask why I don't have more. I would make a second question, 'Do you play with your children?' The majority say, 'but father, I have no time. I work all day.'

Pope Francis

#28. I love tango, and I used to dance when I was young.

Pope Francis

#29. I cannot imagine a Christian who does not know how to smile. May we joyfully witness to our faith.

Pope Francis

#30. I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be 'protectors' of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.

Pope Francis

#31. I had an experience of knowing the Polish people when I was a child, and where my father worked many Poles came to work after the war. They were good people, and this has stayed in my heart.

Pope Francis

#32. It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity. St. Paul, who was the first to speak to the Gentiles, the pagans, to believers in other religions, was the first to teach us that.

Pope Francis

#33. I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth, and not ruled by it.

Pope Francis

#34. If I go to Italy, I will certainly request to meet with Pope Francis, whom I admire very much.

Jimmy Carter

#35. Do I pray that the Lord gives me the desire to do his will, or do I look for compromises because I'm afraid of God's will?

Pope Francis

#36. To all of you, I repeat: Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! And not only that, but I say to us all: let us not rob others of hope, let us become bearers of hope!

Pope Francis

#37. You've got the oil companies fighting Pope Francis. Fighting the scientists of the world. Fighting the governor of California. They are engaged in literally a life-and-death struggle, and I have no doubt who is going to be the victor.

Jerry Brown

#38. Do you allow yourselves to be gazed upon by the Lord? But how do you do this? You look at the tabernacle and you let yourselves be looked at . . . it is simple! "It is a bit boring; I fall asleep." Fall asleep then, sleep! He is still looking at you. But know for sure that he is looking at you!

Pope Francis

#39. I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!

Pope Francis

#40. Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met ... I can say that the most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to.

Pope Francis

#41. Putin has big plans for Russia ... Hats off to the Russians. I think I would just get along very well with Vladimir Putin.

Pope Francis

#42. I don't know if it is all (man's fault) but the majority is, for the most part, it is man who continuously slaps down nature.

Pope Francis

#43. And here the first word that I wish to say to you: joy! Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad! Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy born of having many possessions, but of having encountered a Person: Jesus, in our midst.

Pope Francis

#44. Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do, and I do it with my heart.

Pope Francis

#45. Since many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church and others are non-believers, from the bottom of my heart I give this silent blessing to each and every one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you but knowing that each one of you is a child of God.

Pope Francis

#46. I read little, I just glance through one newspaper. Just 15 minutes.

Pope Francis

#47. Do not be afraid to help one another. The devil is looking for rivalry, division, gangs. Keep working to make progress ... I have seen how pain does not stifle the hope deep within the human heart and how life goes on, finding new strength even in the midst of difficulties.

Pope Francis

#48. Pastors must welcome the lost sheep. Actually, I made a mistake. I said welcome, rather, go out and find them.

Pope Francis

#49. As your captain, I'm going to push you to not fall back on defense, but to play offense, and to play our match
the Gospel, together.

Pope Francis

#50. I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.

Pope Francis

#51. Pope Francis also I think was really pivotal in sort of sanctioning and giving that important cosign to the opening of Cuba.

Joy-Ann Reid

#52. If I repeated some passages from the homilies of the Church Fathers, in the second or third century, about how we must treat the poor, some would accuse me of giving a Marxist homily.

Pope Francis

#53. I know married Catholics in a second union who go to church, who go to church once or twice a year and say I want communion, as if joining in Communion were an award. It's a work towards integration, all doors are open, but we cannot say, 'from here on they can have communion.'

Pope Francis

#54. Please pray with me for everyone in Sri Lanka and the Philippines as I begin my trip.

Pope Francis

#55. I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists.

Pope Francis

#56. When Christians forget about hope and tenderness they become a cold Church, that loses its sense of direction and is held back by ideologies and worldly attitudes, whereas God's simplicity tells you: go forward, I am a Father who caresses you.

Pope Francis

#57. I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone, and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above all I would say do not lose hope ...

Pope Francis

#58. Perhaps I can say that I am a bit astute, that I can adapt to circumstances, but it is also true that I am a bit naive. Yes, but the best summary, the one that comes more from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.

Pope Francis

#59. I do not believe, that it is true or right that Islam is terrorist.

Pope Francis

#60. I try to lead a life where I don't have to ask God for forgiveness.

Pope Francis

#61. I have heard it said that families with many children and high birth rates are among the cause of poverty. It seems to me a simplistic opinion. I can say that the main cause of poverty is an economic system that has removed the person from the center.

Pope Francis

#62. Do I take the Gospel message of reconciliation and love into the places where I live and work?

Pope Francis

#63. Environmental degradation is one of the biggest challenges we have. I think a question that we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'

Pope Francis

#64. We have, in a sense, lorded it over nature, over Sister Earth, over Mother Earth, i think man has gone too far.

Pope Francis

#65. Time spent with the sick is holy time. It is a way of praising God who conforms us to the image of His Son, who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). Jesus Himself said: "I am among you as one who serves" (Lk 22:27)

Pope Francis

#66. I think that no one roiled American politics and sort of scrambled the left/right dynamic more 2015 year than Pope Francis.

Joy-Ann Reid

#67. It grieves me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car ...

Pope Francis

#68. You may be asking yourselves, 'Who is this man standing before us?' i would like to reply to that question with something absolutely certain about my own life: The man standing before you is a man who has been forgiven. A man who was, and is, saved from his many sins.

Pope Francis

#69. I ask everyone with political responsibility to remember two things: human dignity and the common good.

Pope Francis

#70. I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down.

Pope Francis

#71. Who am I to judge a gay person?

Pope Francis

#72. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them.

Pope Francis

#73. I'm overwhelmed by shame that the people who had the responsibility to take care of the tender ones violated that trust and caused them great pain.

Pope Francis

#74. In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor, ... I underscore the verb 'stop.' I'm not saying 'bomb' or 'make war,' just 'stop.' And the means that can be used to stop them must be evaluated.

Pope Francis

#75. Today I ask you in the name of Christ and the Church, never tire of being merciful.

Pope Francis

#76. I believe, along with Pope Francis and almost all scientists, that climate change is threatening this planet in horrendous ways, and that we have to be aggressive in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel and defeat the Keystone Pipeline.

Bernie Sanders

#77. If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?

Pope Francis

#78. Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking myself up, I have to cut others down.' Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.

Pope Francis

#79. It's important if you can do good with power. And Jesus defined power, true power is to serve, to do service, to do the most humble services, and I must still make progress on this path of service because I feel that I don't do everything I should do. That's the sense I have of power.

Pope Francis

#80. Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace.

Pope Francis

#81. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.

Pope Francis

#82. Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.

Pope Francis

#83. We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. The teaching of the church is clear, and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

Pope Francis

#84. I don't know how things stand in the thinking of the Italian parliament. The Pope doesn't get mixed up in Italian politics.

Pope Francis

#85. Do not feel discouraged by all the challenges and hardships you might face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to this new nation of yours.

Pope Francis

#86. I think both freedom of religion and freedom of expression are both fundamental human rights, everyone has not only the freedom and the right but the obligation to say what Pope Francis thinks for the common good ... we have the right to have this freedom openly without offending.

Pope Francis

#87. A Christian who withdraws into himself, hiding all that the Lord has given him, is not a Christian! I would ask the many young people present to be generous with their God-given talents for the good of others, the Church and our world.

Pope Francis

#88. Despite our sins, we can say with Peter: Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.

Pope Francis

#89. Sadly, because President Obama has done such a poor job as President, you won't see another black president for generations! I think he has set a very low bar and I think it's a shame for the African-American people.

Pope Francis

#90. I think the church has to apologize not only to the gay person it has offended, but also to the poor, to women who are exploited, to children forced into labor and for having blessed so many weapons in the past.

Pope Francis

#91. The one thing that the Catholic Church desires, and that I seek as Bishop of Rome, "the Church which presides in charity", is communion with the Orthodox Churches.

Pope Francis

#92. I wish to make add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: it is the cry for peace!

Pope Francis

#93. I don't live in the papal residence. I live in a simple apartment behind the Vatican gas station.

Pope Francis

#94. I believe in God - not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.

Pope Francis

#95. I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity!

Pope Francis

#96. Many of you have asked the Lord, looking at Him: Why, Lord? And the Lord answers to each one of you, to your heart, Christ responds with His heart. It's the only thing I can tell you. Let us look to Christ, He is the Lord and He understands us because He underwent all the trials that we go through.

Pope Francis

#97. It is the attitude of some leaders of God's people; they continually scold others, hurl reproaches at them, tell them to be quiet ... 'Madam, take your crying child out of the church as I am preaching.' As if the cries of a child were not a sublime homily.

Pope Francis

#98. Whenever people open their hearts to God in some way, the Lord wants to do something good. Even if it just got scheduled randomly for that day, I'm sure [Pope Francis] sees significance in that.

Ralph Martin

#99. I address a strong appeal from my heart that the dignity and safety of the worker always be protected.

Pope Francis

#100. Preparation for marriage is very important. It's very, very important because I believe it is something that in the Church, in common pastoral ministry, at least in my country, in South America, the Church it has not valued much.

Pope Francis