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Pope Francis-An OverviewPope Francis’ Global Outreach
- Apostolic Journeys: As of April 2025, Pope Francis has made 44 international apostolic journeys, visiting 61 countries on all continents except Oceania and Antarctica.
- His first trip was to Brazil in July 2013 for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.
- He made historic visits to countries like Iraq (2021) — becoming the first pope to ever visit the country, promoting peace and interfaith dialogue.
Pope Francis has written three major encyclicals:- Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith, 2013)
- Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home, 2015)
- A groundbreaking encyclical on environmental stewardship, calling for integral ecology and respect for creation as a moral issue.
- Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship, 2020)
- A call for global solidarity, universal brotherhood, and dialogue in the face of growing division and isolation.
- Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy (2015-2016):
- Opened Holy Doors in Rome and around the world, emphasizing the centrality of mercy in the Church’s mission.
- It saw millions of pilgrims pass through Holy Doors globally, experiencing the sacrament of reconciliation and corporal works of mercy.
- Pope Francis has convoked multiple Synods, with special attention to:
- The Family (2014-2015)
- Young People (2018)
- The Amazon (2019)
- And currently, the Synod on Synodality (2021-2025) — perhaps his most ambitious initiative to reshape how the Church listens, dialogues, and makes decisions, emphasizing consultation with the People of God.
- He called the Church to be a field hospital for the wounded.
- “…There is room for everyone. Everyone together, each one in his own language... each one in his own language. Repeat after me: everyone! Everyone! Everyone! I can't hear you. Again: everyone! Everyone! Everyone! And that is the Church, the mother of all. There is room for everyone.” WYD Lisbon 2023
- Pope Francis has canonized over 900 saints, including:
- Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II (2014)
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta (2016)
- Oscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of El Salvador (2018)
- Met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in 2016 — the first meeting between a pope and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of 1054.
- Historic visits to Muslim-majority nations: Egypt, the UAE (where he signed the Document on Human Fraternity), Iraq, Morocco, and Bahrain.
- Constant efforts to build bridges with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other Christian communities.
- Apostolic Journeys: As of April 2025, Pope Francis has made 44 international apostolic journeys, visiting 61 countries on all continents except Oceania and Antarctica.
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