Originally published on 4/21/25

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, passed away on April 21, 2025—Easter Monday—at 88 from a cerebral stroke. The Vatican confirmed his death, which followed recent hospitalizations due to a respiratory infection. As the first Latin American pope and a powerful voice for compassion, inclusion, and reform, Pope Francis leaves a legacy of hope and transformation. In his honor, and to celebrate his 12 years in service, we’ve gathered 50 of the most inspiring Pope Francis quotes on religion, love, growth and light.

Pope Francis quotes about religion and faith

As a dedicated Catholic, Pope Francis wasn’t shy about telling the world how much he loved and respected his position and God. The quotes below highlight these beliefs. 

• “I believe in God, not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.” 
• “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”
• “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.”
• “Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs, or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”
• “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ, all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! 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.”
• “Before all else, the Gospel invites us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others, and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.”
• “Jesus on the cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love, he conquers it; he defeats it with his resurrection. This is the good that Jesus does for us on the throne of the cross. Christ’s cross, embraced with love, never leads to sadness, but to joy, to the joy of having been saved and of doing a little of what he did on the day of his death.” 
• “Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God.”
• “It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.”
• “The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.”
• “Sin is more than a stain. Sin is a wound; it needs to be treated, healed. The place where my encounter with the mercy of Jesus takes place is my sin.”
•  “God forgives not with a decree but with a caress. Jesus too goes beyond the law and forgives by caressing the wounds of our sins.”
• “Let us draw from the crib the joy and deep peace that Jesus comes to bring to the world.”
• “You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”
• Mercy will always be greater than any sin, no one can put a limit on the love of the all-forgiving God.”

Pope Francis quotes on growth, change and the Catholic Church

Pope Francis constantly made headlines throughout his time in the Vatican for his views on how the Catholic Church needs to grow and evolve. This was further solidified by him saying that homosexuality was not a crime, and that all people, no matter their sexual orientation, race, religious background, gender and social status, have a home in the church. To honor that, here are 20 quotes showcasing how hard he fought for change. 

• “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.”
• “No one can grow if he does not accept his smallness.”
• “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”
• “It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.”
• “We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” 
• “Living together is an art. It’s a patient art, it’s a beautiful art, it’s fascinating.”
• “I think this is truly the most wonderful experience we can have: to belong to a people walking, journeying through history together with our Lord, who walks among us! We are not alone; we do not walk alone. We are part of the one flock of Christ that walks together.”
• “For me, it’s clear: we must redesign the economy so that it can offer every person access to a dignified existence while protecting and regenerating the natural world.”
• “You could say to me, ‘But the Church is made up of sinners; we see them every day.’ And this is true: we are a Church of sinners. And we sinners are called to let ourselves be transformed, renewed, sanctified by God.”
• “Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”
• “Have the courage to go against the tide of this culture of efficiency, this culture of waste. Encountering and welcoming everyone, [building] solidarity—a word that is being hidden by this culture, as if it were a bad word—solidarity and fraternity: these are what make our society truly human.”
• “We need to remember and remind ourselves where we come from, what we are, our nothingness.”
• “God makes Himself felt in the heart of each person. He also respects the culture of all people…God is open to all people. He calls everyone. He moves everyone to seek Him and to discover Him through creation.”
• “Situations can change; people can change. Be the first to seek to bring good. Do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it with good.” 
• “This is the struggle of every person: be free or be a slave.”
• “Indifference is dangerous, whether innocent or not.”
• “To be faithful, to be creative, we need to be able to change. To change! And why must I change? So that I can adapt to the situations in which I must proclaim the Gospel. To stay close to God, we need to know how to set out; we must not be afraid to set out.”
• “We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.” 
• “We need to let ourselves be evangelized by the poor. They have much to teach us.”
• “Today I ask you in the name of Christ and the Church, never tire of being merciful.”

Pope Francis quotes on hope and humanity 

If there were one word most associated with Pope Francis, it would be hope. Throughout his entire life, he never wavered in his belief that there were better things on the horizon, and that greatness and goodness were just around the corner. To further understand that outlook, read the following quotes. 

• “Where there is truth, there is also light, but don’t confuse light with the flash.”
• “If our hearts are closed, if our hearts are made of stone, the stones find their way into our hands and we are ready to throw them.”
• “The most important thing in the life of every man and every woman is not that they should never fall along the way. The important thing is always to get back up, not to stay on the ground licking your wounds.”
• “Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way.”
• “One who believes may not be presumptuous; on the contrary, truth leads to humility, because believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing truth, it is truth that embraces and possesses us.”
• “The lack of historical memory is a serious shortcoming in our society. A mentality that can only say, ‘Then was then, now is now’, is ultimately immature. Knowing and judging past events is the only way to build a meaningful future. Memory is necessary for growth.”
• “If we start without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents.”
• “We are impatient, anxious to see the whole picture, but God lets us see things slowly, quietly.”
• “Justice on its own is not enough. With mercy and forgiveness, God goes beyond justice, he subsumes it and exceeds it in a higher event in which we experience love, which is at the root of true justice.”
• “Truth is a relationship. As such, each one of us receives the truth and expresses it from within, that is to say, according to one’s own circumstances, culture, and situation in life.”
• “We can get angry: it’s even healthy to get angry from time to time.” 
• “Let us be lights of hope! Let us maintain a positive outlook on reality.”
• “A sober, humble lifestyle dedicated to service is worth far more than thousands of followers on social networks.”
• “Joy is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It is the yeast that leaves society as a whole.”
• “There’s no better way of explaining happiness than to make someone happy.”

May Pope Francis rest in peace.

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/inspiring-pope-francis-quotes-on-hope-faith-and-change