Remembering
Pope Francis
Dec 17, 1936 - April 21, 2025
One of the best ways to honor Pope Francis is to reflect on his writings, words, and actions and to allow them to inspire you to imitate in your own unique way
His spirit of compassion, joy, and zeal for Christ and souls.
Consider starting with:
Pope Francis’ Encyclicals
(Lumen fidei, Laudatio si’, Fratelli tutti, & Diletti nos)
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortations
(Evangelli Gaudium, Amoris laetitis, Gaudete et exultate, Christus vivat, Querida Amazonia, Laudate Deum, C’est la confiance)
Some major themes of Pope Francis
pastoral dimension of the Church - the Church as a field hospital and the importance of synodality for collaborative discernment and decision-making; he also called two Jubilee Years, one for Mercy and one for Hope.
compassion especially for the neglected of society like the refugees and immigrant; connected with compassion is his emphasis on encounter and solidarity and building bridges
care for creation especially given the poor are harmed most by climate change and climate change threat to humanity and creation
the joy of the gospel and the importance of being missionary disciples to share that joy with the world
the mercy of God and allowing God’s mercy to transform us to love and promote solidarity
Pope Francis Quotes
“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness."
"A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just."
"Too often we participate in the globalization of indifference. May we strive instead to live global solidarity."
"Let us care for one another and let us be loving custodians of creation." (2nd Tweet as Pope)
"Kindness is firm and persevering intention to always will the good of others, even the unfriendly."
"We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace."
"We will never be disillusioned or lose our way if we are guided by God."
"We all have the duty to do good."
"Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason."
“The faith we proclaim tonight makes us see God present in all those situations where we think he is absent... He is present in the unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighborhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors."
— Pope Francis
“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is … Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”
— Pope Francis
