Pope Francis

      The current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church was born in Buenos Aires on December 17th 1936. He is the first pope of the Jesuit order, and he is also the first non-European pope since 741. At a young age, much of his education on faith came from his grandmother Rosa. She helped shape who Jorge Mario would later become. At the age of 16, he decided to become a priest. This began his journey to become a Jesuit priest. Jorge Mario studied for some months at Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Germany. He was ordained priest in 1969. On March 13th, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis.
      Pope Francis is known for being a “Pope of the people.” He is very involved with the people, especially the poor. He has much humility. When elected pope, he chose to stay in the guest house as opposed to the main housing for the pope. He loves to take public buses and calls for the remembrance of the poor. Francis chooses to wear simpler vestments as well. He was quick to take on corruption in the Church. Archbishops lost their multi-million dollar homes. He has verbally stated that action against global warming is needed. He took the $40 million dollar house of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst and turned it into a soup kitchen. He is known for frequently washing the feet of the people. On Holy Thursday he washed the feet of many Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu, and Catholic refuges and migrants. Pope Francis helped restore full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
      Francis puts great emphasis on God’s mercy and forgiveness. Many have turned to God and confession because of his emphasis on God’s willingness and desire to forgive. This has been coined the “Francis effect.” He is liked by most Catholics in the Catholic Church. His most famous line is probably, “who am I to judge?” He stated this when talking about homosexual people if they are willing and seeking out the Lord. Pope Francis follows Francis of Assisi’s view on creation in that we should have respect for the whole creation and not exploit it for our greedy desires.
Anyone in the papal seat has extreme influence on the entire world. Pope Francis currently holds that seat, and his fruit can tell us that he is one for the people and not for himself.

Check out this video to learn more about Pope Francis and his work!

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/08/us/american-archbishops-lavish-homes/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCuRU-V9eHc

Written by: Isaac Giese