Having declared this, however, it’s important to add (in this time of cult-like attachments to high profile people) that this isn’t an idol worship thing. We recognize Pope Francis as leader of the Catholic Church and as an important shepherd within the worldwide Body of Christ. We also see him as an imperfect human being with struggles and challenges. Just like the rest of us.

So how do we love Pope Francis? Let us count the ways.

Before we start listing the specific ways, however, let us first give the overall and underlying reason: i.e. Pope Francis personifies the character and nature of Jesus Christ. Unconditionally loving, gentle and pure of spirit, were the attributes of Christ when he walked on the earth (as reflected in the Gospels).

All the reports we have read about Pope Francis chronicle him as possessing similar qualities. We especially point to his kind and loving demeanor with all people (whether rich or poor, young or old, Christian or not) and adherence to his God-ordained mission in the face of attempts to pull the Church into the current political fray.

This declaration on the true mission of the church shows Pope Francis’ dedication to the Christ-ordained mission of the Church.  A healthy church is a church that feels passion for spiritual growth, that speaks in a way that is understandable to the men and women of its time, that feels sorrow for the division among brethren, and that quivers with anxiety to proclaim Christ to the nations. (From Pope Francis’ address to participants in a Plenary Assembly February 8, 2024 in Rome)

We love Pope Francis because:

1. He based his comments about world ecological problems through the lens of inequality and poverty in his 2015 encyclical letter ‘Laudato Si – On care for our common home.’ “Today, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of jus­tice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” Pope Francis wrote.

2. He praised a document by bishops in Argentina saying that priests could offer the sacraments to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as a way to support those living in “irregular family situations.” This has been interpreted as the Pope’s interest in a broader examination of how the church deals with changing modern families.

3. He puts God’s true character and nature – unconditionally loving and forever forgiving – front and center in any discussions about the existence of hell. During a 2015 interview with the Catholic News Service, Pope Francis explained that hell is the absence of God, who is the source and essence of love. “This is hell,” explained the Pope. “It is telling God, ‘You take care of yourself because I’ll take care of myself.’ God doesn’t send you to hell, you go there because you choose to be there. Hell is wanting to be distant from God because I do not want God’s love. This is hell.”

4. He opened the door to recognizing the love shared between same-sex couples by stating that same sex unions could be given a “blessing” from the Church. He made it clear, however, that this “blessing” is not the same as the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony. His intention was to ease the alienation from the Church felt by some same-sex couples wed in civil ceremonies.

5. Christ’s humble nature is seen in Pope Francis’ choosing to lead a simple life such as: Living in a simply furnished apartment rather than a Bishop’s mansion, riding mass transit while a Bishop in Argentina, taking a minivan with the other cardinals after he was elected pope, and after being elected pope, standing on the same level as the cardinal-electors rather than sitting in a throne.

6. He recently broke with historic tradition and gave women the right to vote at the 2024 Synod of Bishops. In doing so, he has indicated his hopes of giving women greater decision-making responsibilities in the male-dominated Catholic Church. “The Church cannot be understood without them (religious women and consecrated laywomen),” Pope Francis said in a 2022 video. He encouraged women religious to fight when they are treated unfairly, even within the church.

7. He is always looking for ways to build bridges with people; both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Pope Francis’ “who am I to judge” comment, which he has directed to gay Priests and same-sex couples, is equally applied to everyone as an extension of his own life experience. “I am a sinner … I am sure of this. I am a sinner whom the Lord looked upon with mercy,” Pope Francis said in an interview published in the Italian magazine, Credere, on Dec. 2, 2015.

So there you have it: Pope Francis always concerned with the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized and, most of all, representing the true character and nature of God. 

Pope Francis has become a controversial figure among the various factions of Catholics – conservative, fundamental, and liberal. In fact, there are large numbers of Catholics who don’t like Pope Francis for one reason or another. The feelings against Pope Francis go deep. Some Catholic clergy have even publicly condemned him as a heretic.

As for us, however, the more we come to know Pope Francis the more we see Christ reflected in him and the more we love him.

(Credit for photo: Null Getty.)