Pope Francis Has Died At Age 88

“Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor,” he informed journalists quickly after his election as pope.

He visited islands off Italy and Greece the place refugees have been making the perilous adventure from Libya, Syria and surrounding nations. He helped resettle a number of refugee households in Italy and inspired different Catholics to get up for migrants.

“As people of faith, we wish to join our voices to speak out on your behalf,” Francis mentioned, addressing migrants. “We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity.”

He additionally spoke out in opposition to the Donald Trump management’s mass deportation efforts within the U.S. In a letter despatched to U.S. bishops in early 2025, he requested “not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters” whilst likening as of late’s migrants to Jesus, Mary and Joseph fleeing violence to Egypt. 

As he labored to inspire Catholics’ outreach to the sector, the pope additionally confronted grievance inside of his personal flock. In the U.S., a small wing of doctrine-minded conservatives driven again in opposition to Francis’ welcoming emblem of Catholicism, insisting that the pope’s method to a few problems ― reminiscent of distributing the Eucharist to divorced, remarried {couples} ― may have the impact of muddying long-standing church teachings.

Francis said his conservative fighters in 2019, pronouncing, “For me, it’s an honor if the Americans attack me.” He lamented that individuals selling schisms have allowed ideology to turn out to be “detached” from Catholic doctrine.

“Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith,” Francis informed Portuguese Jesuits of the U.S. Catholic Church in a personal assembly in August 2023.