Top 500 Pope Francis Quotes (2025 Update)
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251. “Breathing is made up of two stages: inhaling, the intake of air, and exhaling, the letting out of air. The spiritual life is fed, nourished, by prayer and is expressed outwardly through mission: inhaling and exhaling. When we inhale, by prayer, we receive the fresh air of the Holy Spirit.”

— Pope Francis

252. “It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good.”

— Pope Francis

253. “This is the mission of every Christian: lumina pandit – to spread the light and to tell the world of God’s love.”

— Pope Francis

254. “Today, we need a Church capable of walking at people’s side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey...”

— Pope Francis

255. “Christian hope is not a ghost and it does not deceive. It is a theological virtue and therefore, ultimately, a gift from God that cannot be reduced to optimism, which is only human. God does not mislead hope; God cannot deny himself. God is all promise.”

— Pope Francis

256. “Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport.”

— Pope Francis

257. “A Christian is never bored or sad. Rather, the one who loves Christ is full of joy and radiates joy.”

— Pope Francis

258. “Challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope-filled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigour!”

— Pope Francis

259. “To all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity!”

— Pope Francis

260. “I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth, and not ruled by it.”

— Pope Francis

261. “The only war that we must all fight is the one against evil.”

— Pope Francis

262. “We can study the whole history of salvation, we can study the whole of Theology, but without the Spirit we cannot understand. It is the Spirit that makes us realize the truth or – in the words of Our Lord – it is the Spirit that makes us know the voice of Jesus.”

— Pope Francis

263. “Charity, patience and tenderness are very beautiful gifts. If you have them, you want to share them with others.”

— Pope Francis

264. “That which gives us true freedom and true happiness is the compassionate love of Christ.”

— Pope Francis

265. “We are all sinners. We are called to a conversion of heart.”

— Pope Francis

266. “In the roughest moments, remember: God is our Father; God does not abandon his children.”

— Pope Francis

267. “God’s love is free. He asks for nothing in return; all he wants is for his love to be accepted.”

— Pope Francis

268. “Where there is calumny, there is Satan himself.”

— Pope Francis

269. “How marvellous it would be if, at the end of the day, each of us could say: today I have performed an act of charity towards others!”

— Pope Francis

270. “Be missionaries of God’s tenderness!”

— Pope Francis

271. “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right.”

— Pope Francis

272. “Total openness to serving others is our hallmark, it alone is our title of honor!”

— Pope Francis

273. “Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil. When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.”

— Pope Francis

274. “First, we can pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven. Let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer!”

— Pope Francis

275. “May we always say thank you to God, especially for his patience and mercy.”

— Pope Francis

276. “For the sake of peace, religious beliefs must never be allowed to be abused in the cause of violence and war.”

— Pope Francis

277. “May the Lord bless the family and strengthen it in this moment of crisis.”

— Pope Francis

278. “The time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instils in us the courage to look to the future with hope.”

— Pope Francis

279. “I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!”

— Pope Francis

280. “Dear young people, Jesus gives us life, life in abundance. If we are close to him we will have joy in our hearts and a smile on our face.”

— Pope Francis

281. “God asks everything of us, yet at the same time he offers everything to us.”

— Pope Francis

282. “Praise is the ‘breath’ which gives us life, because it is intimacy with God, an intimacy that grows through daily praise.”

— Pope Francis

283. “We need courage if we are to be faithful to the Gospel.”

— Pope Francis

284. “The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities.”

— Pope Francis

285. “Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.”

— Pope Francis

286. “When you lose the capacity to dream, you lose the capacity to love, and the energy to love is lost.”

— Pope Francis

287. “The media only writes about the sinners and the scandals, he said, but that’s normal, because ’a tree that falls makes more noise than a forest that grows.”

— Pope Francis

288. “The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty!”

— Pope Francis

289. “Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live for ever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”

— Pope Francis

290. “We are a church of sinners but we must not be afraid of holiness. Do not be afraid to aim for holiness and turn yourselves over to the love of God. Holiness does not mean performing extraordinary things but carrying out daily things in an extraordinary way that is with love, joy and faith.”

— Pope Francis

291. “Let us pray to the Lord and ask him to protect the family in the crisis with which the devil wants to destroy it. Families are the domestic church where Jesus grows in the love of a married couple, in the lives of their children.”

— Pope Francis

292. “Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God.”

— Pope Francis

293. “Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.”

— Pope Francis

294. “If globalization seeks to bring all of us together, but to do so respecting each person, each individual person’s peculiarity, that globalization is good and makes us good and grow and leads to peace.”

— Pope Francis

295. “We cannot give up in the face of evil. God is Love and he has defeated evil through Christ’s death and resurrection.”

— Pope Francis

296. “Religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction. The Church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world.”

— Pope Francis

297. “If we, each doing our own part, if we 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: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good.”

— Pope Francis

298. “Certainly, possessions, money, and power can give a momentary thrill, the illusion of being happy, but they end up possessing us and making us always want to have more, never satisfied. ‘Put on Christ’ in your life, place your trust in him, and you will never be disappointed!”

— Pope Francis

299. “Today people are suffering from poverty, but also from lack of love.”

— Pope Francis

300. “Only trust in God can transform doubts into certainty, evil into good, night into radiant dawn.”

— Pope Francis