Pope Francis, can be seen in the far distance at a podem with rows of people watching as he addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly
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Pope Francis ushered in a new era for the Church. See his work in photos.

During his groundbreaking papacy, Pope Francis inspired the masses as he challenged the traditions and standards of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015, at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The pope was on a six-day visit to the U.S., with stops in Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia.
Photograph by Andrew Renneisen,Getty Images
ByMelissa Sartore
April 21, 2025

Pope Francis always had an eye on the future. From the outset he recognized the need for a shift within the Catholic Church, which had lost the trust of many in recent years. His calls for change could be inspiring to many yet divisive to others as he ushered in transformational ideologies and a less formal period for the papacy.

As formality was thrust aside, older Catholic traditions were also reevaluated. In 2013, Francis named numerous women to roles high within the Vatican administration. When asked about the sexual preferences of priests, the pope replied, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis gave traditionalists within the Catholic Church pause, but subsequent statements in support of same-sex civil unions and about the “unjust” criminalization of homosexuality attested to Francis’s vision for the future of the church. 

To learn more, check out Pope Francis: A Life of Service available where books and magazines are sold.

Francis also challenged the status quo by encouraging that the clergy make a place within the church for divorced and remarried Catholics. He urged them to “offer understanding, comfort and acceptance” to single mothers, “rather than imposing straightaway a set of rules that only lead people to feel judged and abandoned.” 

In accordance with Pope Francis’s hope for global harmony and cooperation, he issued a call to action for all Catholics to protect the planet—“God’s creation”—in the face of environmental crises. And despite referring to himself as a “dinosaur” when it came to computers, Pope Francis broke ground for the papacy by taking part in numerous online events, launching the Vatican into the digital age and connecting with millions of his flock.

Pope Francis, dressed in all white, frees doves amongst a group of men in Turkey.
While in Istanbul, Turkey, in November 2014, Pope Francis frees doves as an act of peace in the overwhelmingly Muslim, yet officially secular, state.
Photograph by Ozan Kose, AFP via Getty Images
Pope Francis, dressed in white sitting in a chair, listens to a speech by Imelda Caicedo, left, a delegate of the Ecuadorian coastal farmers association
On a trip to Ecuador in July 2015, Pope Francis listens to Imelda Caicedo, a member of the Montubio ethnic group, while she speaks at the San Francisco Church in Quito. Caicedo offered prayers and devotion to the pope and his efforts on behalf of the Montubio people.
Photograph by Gregorio Borgia, Associated Press
A male African lion is projected onto the Vatican at night.
To raise awareness of threats to endangered species, a male lion photographed by National Geographic Explorer Joel Sartore is projected onto the Vatican in 2015. Additional images of forests and other animals were also displayed to coincide with ongoing international climate talks in Paris.
Photograph by Joel Sartore, Nat Geo Image Collection
Climate activist Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg meets Pope Francis outside the Vatican amongst a crowd of people.
Pope Francis meets Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg in April 2019. Thunberg received a blessing from the pope and she thanked him “for standing up for the climate and speaking the truth.” Pope Francis told Thunberg, “God bless you, continue to work, continue.” 
Photograph by Vatican Media, Reuters, Redux
Pope Francis speaks at a square near the ruins of the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception (al-Tahira-l-Kubra), in the old city of Iraq's northern Mosul , he sits among ruble and ruins as the city has been severely destroyed from war.
While in Iraq in 2021, Pope Francis spoke amid the ruins of Christian churches in Mosul. It was one stop on his historic visit to the country, the first ever by a pope. 
Photograph by Vincenzo Pinto, Getty Images
A group of people hold with colorful signs saying "equal" in the center of an square with old buildings.
Prior to Francis’s 2015 visit to Dublin, Ireland, crowds gather as votes in the country’s referendum on same-sex marriage are counted. Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis spoke out against laws that criminalized homosexuality. 
Photograph by Brian Lawless, Associated Press
Pope Francis sits at a desk speaks to the crew aboard the International Space Station from the Vatican on a screen in front of him.
Pope Francis speaks to the crew aboard the International Space Station from the Vatican in 2017. The conversation marked the second call from a bishop of Rome to space, as Benedict XVI had made a comparable call in 2011. 
Photograph by L'Osservatore Romano, Associated Press
Pope Francis in Iraq
During his visit to Iraq in 2021, the country’s first ever papal visit, Pope Francis encouraged interfaith dialogue and intercultural tolerance for the betterment of humanity. 
Photograph by Moises Saman, Nat Geo Image Collection
A small group holds a sign that reads, " Dear Pope Francis help us attain justice," gathers to protest ahead of the visit of Pope Francis
In anticipation of Pope Francis’s arrival in the Philippines in 2015, members of a group of activists gather near where the pope would be staying in Manila to protest the government's treatment of those affected by natural disasters.
Photograph by Johannes Eisele, AFP via Getty Images
A tourist, seen as a shadow, takes a picture of a banner bearing a portrait of Pope Francis displayed on the wall
An onlooker snaps a photo of Pope Francis’s portrait displayed on the wall of St. Catherine's Church in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem in 2014. Francis arrived in the Middle East just days after the picture was taken to discuss peacekeeping efforts in the region.
Photograph by Thomas Coex, AFP via Getty Images
Pope Francis, standing near a large, wooden cross, on a concreted structure with two other priests waves next to the US border.
Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Ciudad Juárez fairgrounds in Mexico’s Chihuahua state in February 2016. Just before the service, held near the border with the United States to highlight issues facing migrants, Pope Francis waved to the crowd. 
Photograph by Yuri Cortez, AFP ,Getty Images