Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with the media at the Pope VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 16, 2013. Speaking of the moment of his election and his conversation with his friend, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, in the Sistine Chapel as the votes were going his way. When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss and said: Don't forget the poor! And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor! (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)2025-04-21T09:06:11Z Follow live updates on the death of Pope Francis. VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis, who died on Monday, had an informal, lighthearted speaking style, and sometimes he even created words in a combination of his native Spanish with the Italian that he spoke as pope.Some of his memorable quotes: A simple, initial greetingBrothers and sisters, good evening! -- Francis first words delivered from the loggia of St. Peters Basilica after his election as pontiff on March 13, 2013.___A plea to remember the poorWhen the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss and said: Dont forget the poor! And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor! Francis, speaking to journalists on March 16, 2013, recounting how Cardinal Claudio Hummes gave him the idea of choosing the name Francis.___ A plea for mercyIn these days, Ive been able to read a book by a cardinal Cardinal Kasper, a good theologian about mercy. And this book has done me a lot of good, though dont think Im just doing publicity for my cardinals books! Its not like that. But its done me so much good. Cardinal Kasper said that feeling mercy, this word changes everything. Its the best thing we can feel: It changes the world. A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just. Francis First Angelus prayer from his studio window, March 17, 2013. ___ A greeting for BenedictWe are brothers. Francis, upon meeting Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI for the first time after the election, at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, March 23, 2013. ___ A welcoming phraseWho am I to judge? Francis, responding to a question about a purportedly gay priest, in a comment that set the tone for a papacy more welcoming to LGBTQ+ Catholics, July 28, 2013. ___ A greeting for the patriarchWe are brothers. Francis, to Patriarch Kirill during the first-ever papal meeting with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Havana airport, Feb. 13, 2016. ___A message on the sacramentsIn certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. Hence, I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lords mercy. I would also point out that the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. Footnote 351 in encyclical Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), referencing Francis writings about access to the Eucharist, April 8, 2016. ___An outreach to IslamThe meeting is the message. Francis, upon meeting Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, after a long freeze in relations, May 23, 2016. ___On criticismIts an honor if the Americans attack me. Francis quip to French journalist-author Nicholas Seneze, referring to U.S. conservative criticism, aboard the papal plane about Senezes book How America Wants to Change the Pope, Sept. 4, 2019.___ On the pandemicWe have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time, important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. Francis, praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic in St. Peters Square, March 27, 2020.___On Indigenous peopleI am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools. Francis, apologizing for abuses of Indigenous peoples in Canadas residential schools, at the site of a former school in Maskwacis, Alberta, July 25, 2022.___On ArgentinaI dont know if youre familiar with this theological-cultural history, that the guardian angels of some countries got mad with God and told him: Father, you were unfair to us you gave each of our countries a wealth: cattle, agriculture, mining. And to the Argentines you gave them everything. Everything! They have all the wealth. And it is said that God thought a little. But to balance it out, I gave Argentina Argentines. Francis, in an interview with The Associated Press, Jan. 24, 2023.___ On homosexualityBeing homosexual is not a crime. Francis, in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to countries that criminalize homosexuality, Jan. 24, 2023. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site