Make mess!: Pope Francis’s memorable phrases

Pope Francis died on Monday, April 21, Easter Monday, but several of his phrases will continue to resonate in the memory and heart of thousands of Catholics whose lives were transformed by his eloquent evangelical message.

Next, some of his memorable phrases over 12 years of pontificate.

1. “Make mess”

“I want mess in the dioceses, I want it to go outside … I want the church to go out, I want us to defend ourselves from everything that is worldness, what is installation, of whatever comfort, of whatever clericalism, of what is being locked in ourselves.” (Apostolic trip to Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the XXVIII World Youth Day).

2. “Do not balcony life”

“Dear young people, please, do not balcony life, get into it, Jesus did not stay on the balcony, he got up, they do not balcony life, get into it as Jesus did.” (Prayer vigil with young people in WYD BRAZIL 2013)

3. “Everyone. Everyone. In the Church there is room for everyone”

“In the church none left over, none is there, there is room for all. Just as we are. Everyone. And that, Jesus says it clearly when he sends the apostles to call the banquet of that man who had prepared it. He says: Go and bring everyone: young and old, healthy and sick, fair and sinners. All. All. In the church there is room for everyone.” (Welcome Ceremony Lisbon, August 3, 2023)

4. “The Lord never tires of forgiving”

“Do not forget this: the Lord never gets tired of forgiving. It is we who get tired of apologizing.” (Ángelus in the Plaza de San Pedro, Sunday, March 17, 2013)

5. “Mary is God’s influencer”

“Maria did not buy life insurance! Maria played and that is why it is strong, so it is an influencer, it is the influencer of God! The” yes “and the desire to serve were stronger than doubts and difficulties.” (Pope Francis’s apostolic trip to Panama – Vigil with young people, January 26, 2019)

6. “Peru is a schentic land”

“Do not forget the saints who accompany us from heaven; they go to them, pray and do not get tired of asking for their intercession. Those saints of yesterday but also today: this earth has many, because it is a ‘sustained’ land. Peru is a ‘signed’ land” “” (Pope Francis apostolic trip to Chile and Peru, Plaza de Armas de Lima, Sunday, January 21, 2018)

7. You are the “now” of God!

“You, dear young people, are not the future. We like to say:” You are the future … “No, you are the present. You are not the future of God, you young people are now of God.” (Pope Francis’s speech in the vigil with young people. World Youth Day Panama 2019, Sunday, January 27, 2019)

8. “Don’t be afraid”

“Dear young people, I would like to look into each one of you and tell you: do not be afraid. They are not afraid. I say something very beautiful, it is no longer me, it is Jesus himself who is looking at them right now. He is looking at us. He knows you, he knows the heart of each of you, he knows the life of each of you, knows the joys, knows the sadness, the successes and the failures, he knows your hearts. Here, in Lisbon, on this World Youth Day: ‘Do not be afraid’. (Pope Francis apostolic trip to Portugal – Holy Mass for World Youth Day, August 6, 2023)

9. “How would I like a poor church for the poor!”

“Ah, how I would like a poor church and for the poor!” (Hearing granted on Saturday, March 16, 2014 to communication professionals who work at the Holy See).

10. “A person who thinks of building walls, and not bridges, is not a Christian”

“A person who thinks of building walls, any wall, and not building bridges, is not a Christian. That is not the gospel.” (Press wheel on the papal plane on Thursday, February 18, 2016)

11. “Who am I to judge?”

“If a person is gay and looks for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it very beautifully. He says that these people should not be marginalized for that. You have to integrate them into society. The problem is not to have this trend.” (Surprise press conference aboard the papal plane, July 29, 2013)

12. “Including women is not a feminist fashion”

“Including women is not a feminist fashion, it is an act of justice that, culturally, was set aside.” (Portugal TVI/CNN interview to Pope broadcast on the night of September 5, 2022)

13. “I ask you to be revolutionaries, to go against the countercurrent”

“I ask you to be revolutionaries, that they go against the countercurrent; yes, in this I ask you to rebel against this culture of the provisional, that, in the end, you believe that you are not able to assume responsibilities, which are not able to truly love. (Pope Francis speech in encounter with the volunteers of the WYD Rio 2013, July 28, 2013)

14. “The only way in which it is lawful to look at a person from top to bottom is to help get up”

“The only opportunity, the only moment that is lawful to look at a person from top to bottom is to help get up. How many times do we see people who look at us like this, over the shoulder, from top to bottom! It is sad. The only way in which it is lawful, the only situation in which it is lawful to look at a person from top to bottom is to help get up.” (Pope Francis apostolic trip to Portugal – Vigil with young people on August 5, 2023)

15. “Do not let the soul be anesthetized”

“The soul is not allowed to be anesthetized; rather, they aspire to the goal of true love, which also demands resignation and a ‘no’ firm the doping of success at any price and the drug to think only of oneself and the comfort itself.” (Homily of Pope Francis at the closing Mass of the WYD Krakow 2016)

16. “They are not fears administrators, but dream entrepreneurs!”

“They have, therefore, the courage to replace fears with dreams; they replace fears for dreams, they are not administrators of fears, but dream entrepreneurs!” (Pope Francis Apostolic Journey to Portugal – Meeting with young university students on August 3, 2023)