Pope Francis: Public image

Image: Rooma paavst Franciscus ja Eesti uus suursaadik Püha Tooli juures Väino Reinart By Estonian Foreign Ministry – reinart, CC BY 2.0, (Wikipedia)

Francis was frequently described as a progressive or liberal moderate. Commentator William Saletan described Francis as liberal and fundamentally anti-conservative in his analysis of Francis’s first long interview after becoming pope, highlighting Francis’s statements “God is to be encountered in the world of today” and “God manifests himself in historical revelation, in history”. Others have contested descriptions of Francis as liberal. In 2014, the Vatican criticized some Italian news agencies, as well as the Agence France-Presse, for reporting that a comment Francis made was suggestive of an opening toward acceptance of same-sex marriage or civil unions; a Vatican spokesperson said the pope’s remark was taken out of context.

Important aspects of Francis’s public image include “his recognizable humanity” and gestures of humility, as well as his efforts to preserve his autonomy amid Roman Curia bureaucracy. He was a frequent user of landline telephones; he reportedly had never owned a computer or mobile phone.

In December 2013, both Time and The Advocate magazines named Francis as their “Person of the Year”; Esquire magazine named him the “Best-dressed man” for 2013, citing his simpler vestments. Rolling Stone magazine followed in January 2014 by making him their featured front cover. Fortune magazine also ranked Francis as number one in their list of 50 greatest leaders. He was included in Forbes’ lists of the most powerful people in the world in 2014 and 2016.

In March 2013, a new song was dedicated to Francis and released in Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, and Italian, titled Come Puoi (“How You Can”). A street in La Plata, Argentina, was renamed Papa Francisco in his honour. The Argentine Chamber of Deputies passed legislation to mint a commemorative coin as a tribute to Francis in 2013. As of 2013, sales of papal souvenirs, a sign of popularity, were up.

Francis presided over his first joint public wedding ceremony in a Nuptial Mass for 20 couples from the Archdiocese of Rome on 14 September 2014, a few weeks before the start of the 5–19 October Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (the Synod on the Family).

In 2016, Francis became the first pope to create an Instagram account. He broke records after gaining over one million followers in under 12 hours of the account being up. On 26 November 2020, Francis became the first pope to write an op-ed for The New York Times, addressing issues such as COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and the need for global solidarity.

Francis was a longtime supporter of the San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. When the Argentine club won the 2014 Copa Libertadores, he received the team at his guest house near St. Peter’s Square, where he was gifted a replica trophy and a glove of goalkeeper Sebastian Torrico.

References

• Saletan, W. (2013). “Pope Francis: A Liberal in the Vatican.” Slate.

• “Vatican Clarifies Pope Francis’s Comments on Same-Sex Unions.” Agence France-Presse, 2014.

• “Pope Francis Named Time’s Person of the Year.” Time, December 2013.

• “Pope Francis: Best-Dressed Man of 2013.” Esquire, 2013.

• “Pope Francis Makes History with Instagram Account.” The Guardian, 2016.

• “Pope Francis Writes Op-Ed for The New York Times.” The New York Times, 2020.

• “Pope Francis and San Lorenzo: A Football Fan’s Legacy.” Vatican News, 2014.

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