Pope Francis’ most memorable quotes

The legacy of Pope Francis is also detected in his most memorable quotes: here are some of them.

Just three days after becoming Pope, Francis summarised the beginning of his pontificate during an interview with journalists, saying: “How I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor!” The next day he revealed another theme of his pontificate, a constant focus on the Word of God’s mercy. “God understands us, he waits for us, he does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to him with a contrite heart.”

The marking of World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro was Pope Francis’s biggest challenge. It was his first great moment on the world stage and expectations were high. And he ended up doing much more than anyone had predicted. He said: “But I want there to be a mess in the diocese, I want you to go outside. I want the Church out on the street.”

During his first press conference, on the plane back from Brazil, he was asked for his opinion concerning gays in the Church. He called on people not to judge others. “I think that when you encounter a person like this, you must make a distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of being a lobby, because lobbies are not all good. That is bad. If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who am I to judge?”

The following year, in addition to wars in Syria and Ukraine, there arose a new crisis between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Pope Francis, visibly shocked, delivered the most painful message of peace that he has made so far. “I think mostly of the children, of those who are deprived of the hope of a dignified life, of a future: dead children, wounded children, maimed children, orphan children, children who have the remants of war as toys, children who do not know how to smile. Stop, please! I ask you with all my heart. It is time to stop! Stop, please!”

He followed the path created by Pope Benedict XVI in responding to cases of child abuse. In July 2014 he invited several victims to the Vatican to hear them and to personally apologise. They also celebrated Mass together. “Before God and his people, I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you. And I humbly ask forgiveness.”

Pope Francis has focused most of his weekly general audiences on rediscovering the value of family, not only in the Church but also in society. He has said that the family is the first hospital and the first place where we learn what love is. “The family is the nearest hospital; when one of the family is ill, it is in the home where they are cared for as long as possible. The family is the first school for the young, the best home for the elderly. The family constitutes the best ‘social capital’. It cannot be replaced by other institutions. It needs to be helped and strengthened.”

For Pope Francis, even atheists can make it to heaven. He said: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the athe- ists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter that we need so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Finally, we could not leave out this! It is his most-quoted phrase. Whenever he must say goodbye, Pope Francis asks people to pray for him. And if these people are not believers, he says: “Send me good vibes. Thank you.”

Pope’s Francis’s life is a love quotation indeed!