Pope Francis Quotes

Peace is handcrafted. It is made every day. Also friendship among people, mutual knowledge, esteem, is handcrafted. It's made every day. Respect the other, say that which one thinks, but with respect, but walk together.

The political struggle against marriage equality is war

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be - and not building bridges - is not Christian.

Perhaps I can say that I am a bit astute, that I can adapt to circumstances, but it is also true that I am a bit naive. Yes, but the best summary, the one that comes more from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.

I thank all missionaries, men and women who quietly work hard for the Lord and their brothers and sisters.

Do I take the Gospel message of reconciliation and love into the places where I live and work?

We live in an age rather skeptical of truth, of its existence." There is a "tendency to believe that nothing is definitive, and think that the truth is given by consent or by what we want. The question arises: does "the" truth really exist? What is "the" truth? Can we know it? Can we find it?

Life is a precious gift, but we realize this only when we give it to others.

States kill when they apply the death penalty, when they send their people to war, or when they carry out extra-judicial or summary executions. They can also kill by omission, when they fail to guarantee to their people access to the bare essentials for life.

Everyone say to himself: 'When was the last time I went to confession?' And if it has been a long time, don't lose another day! Go, the priest will be good. And Jesus, (will be) there, and Jesus is better than the priests - Jesus receives you. He will receive you with so much love! Be courageous, and go to confession.

In a family it is normal to take charge of those who need help. Do not be afraid of frailty!

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

We cannot take a step in our Christian life without the help of the Lord, because we are weak.

Our mission as Christians is to conform ourselves evermore to Jesus as the model of our lives.

We need to provide an education which teaches crit­ical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values.

We too can be saints in our family, in our neighborhood, wherever we live and work. Be a person who listens to what people need, communicating not only to grieve or tell others about your own problems. Listen in order to intercede and help out.

What has the Cross left in each of us? You see, it gives us a treasure that no one else can give: the certainty of the faithful love which God has for us. A love so great that it enters into our sin and forgives it, enters into our suffering and gives us the strength to bear it. It is a love which enters into death to conquer it and save us.

Let love simply bloom... and it is unstoppable.

When a family loses its ability to dream, children don't grow, love doesn't grow and life loses strength, eventually it shuts off.

Leaders of the Church have often been Narcissus, flattered and sickeningly excited by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy.

Let yourselves be led by the Holy Spirit, with freedom and, please, do not cage the Holy Spirit

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

The Cross isn't an ornament, mere symbol. It's the mystery of God's love, that He died for our sins.

To be friends with God means to pray with simplicity, like children talking to their parents.

For just as some people want a purely spiritual Christ, without flesh and without the cross, they also want their interpersonal relationships provided by sophisticated equipment, by screens and systems which can be turned on and off on command. Meanwhile, the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction.

Being a Christian means renouncing ourselves, taking up the cross and carrying it with Jesus. There is no other way.

A Christian who withdraws into himself, hiding all that the Lord has given him, is not a Christian! I would ask the many young people present to be generous with their God-given talents for the good of others, the Church and our world.

The first reform must be the attitude. The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people's night, into the darkness, but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials.

How powerful prayer is! May we never lose the courage to say: Lord, give us your peace.

The search for God means having the courage to set out on a risky path, it means following our restless hearts.

Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem. May we let ourselves be drawn by the light of God made man.

Peace is the language we must speak.

I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs us on to do our best. A small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties. Everyone needs to be touched by the comfort and attraction of God’s saving love, which is mysteriously at work in each person, above and beyond their faults and failings.

May each family rediscover family prayer, which helps to bring about mutual understanding and forgiveness.

God understands us, He waits for us. He doesn't get tired of forgiving us. If we repent and go to him with a truly open heart.

In a very real way, the poor are our teachers. They show us that people’s value is not measured by their possessions or how much money they have in the bank. A poor person, a person lacking material possessions, always maintains his or her dignity. The poor can teach us much about humility and trust in God.

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

Profound peace, spiritual consolation, love of God and love of all things in God - this is the sign that you are on this right path.

I ask everyone with political responsibility to remember two things: human dignity and the common good.

Be dispensers of God's grace, not controllers. Don't be the Holy Spirit's customs agents.

To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person and face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely. And you are, dear brothers and sisters, in the face of Jesus.

In this case [the Charlemagne Prize], I don't say (I was) forced, but convinced by the holy and theological headstrongness of Cardinal [Walter] Kasper, because he was chosen, elected by Aachen to convince me. And I said yes, but in the Vatican. And I said I offer it for Europe, as a co-decoration for Europe, a prize so that Europe may do what I desired at Strasburg; that it may no longer be "grandmother Europe" but "mother Europe."

To build peace is difficult but to live without it is torment.

On the ordination of women, the church has spoken and said no. John Paul II, in a definitive formulation said that door is closed.

We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those (who need help most).

Reject every form of corruption.

Babies cry, make noise, go here and there. But it annoys me when a baby cries in church and there are those who say he needs to go out. The cry of a baby is God's voice: never drive them away from the church!

Racism today is the ultimate evil in the world