Who is Pope Francis?
Q: Who is Pope Francis?
A: Pope Francis is the 266th and current pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 13 March 2013 and chose the name Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi.
Q: What is unique about Pope Francis?
A: Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere in more than a millennium who is not European.
Q: What did he do before being elected as pope?
A: Before being elected as pope, he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his election to papacy.
Q: How has he been known throughout his life?
A: Throughout his life, both as an individual and a religious leader, he has been known for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths.
Q: What environmental issue does he care about?
A: He has expressed concern about global warming (climate change). In 2015 he wrote an encyclical called Laudato si' which addressed this issue among others.
Q: How does Pope Francis approach his office differently than other popes?
A: Since becoming pope he has taken a simpler and less formal approach to the office by choosing to live in Vatican guesthouse instead of papal residence.
