Pope Francis emphasized Catholicism globally, reached beyond US, Europe into impoverished nations

Over the people of his 12 years arsenic pontiff, Pope Francis’ papacy has been some highly regarded arsenic influential and scrutinized arsenic modernized and anti-traditional.

Leaving down a bequest of expansion, Pope Francis ministered to signifier the Catholic Church’s aboriginal and standard its scope beyond areas of absorption successful some the U.S. and Europe.

"If you deliberation astir however past helium has approached appointing cardinals," Tim Gabrielli, subordinate prof and Gudorf seat successful Catholic intelligence traditions astatine the University of Dayton successful Ohio, told Fox News Digital. "He's been precise intentional astir that."

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Pope Francis was elected pope connected March 13, 2013. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)

Pope Francis created cardinals from 24 nations that had ne'er had 1 before.

"He was calling attraction to places that are overlooked," Gabrielli said. "He was saying, ‘The religion is here, too, and the religion present has a voice. The religion present should beryllium paid attraction to."

"I deliberation it’s been precise significant," helium added.

Gabrielli asserts that Pope Francis was playing "a agelong time" with the Catholic Church by expanding its ain broader geographical reach.

"The religion is increasing astir rapidly successful Africa, and we don't deliberation astir that arsenic overmuch successful the Northern Hemisphere," helium said. "Resources for the aboriginal of the religion are successful those places."

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Pope Francis traveled to areas of the satellite wherever popes didn't often visit. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

In 2017, Pope Francis convened a Synodal Assembly, a gathering of bishops, to sermon the Amazon portion and clime change, which was a absorption during his sovereignty.

"It strikes maine arsenic Pope Francis saying, ‘Hey, this portion that is mostly seen arsenic a suppository of resources, immoderate we tin exploit from this large lush region, well, there’s a religion operating there. There are radical surviving determination who we don’t wage overmuch attraction to,’" Gabrielli said.

"That is successful tune with his accent connected economical exploitation," helium added.

Gabrielli believes Pope Francis’ archetypal words aft his predetermination spoke to his broader ngo arsenic pontiff.

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Pope Francis died connected April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

"Brothers and sisters, bully evening," Pope Francis said successful his code to Rome connected March 13, 2013. "You cognize that the complaint of the conclave was to springiness a bishop of Rome. It would look that my brothers went to the extremity of the satellite to take him."

Pope Francis, calved Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the archetypal pope successful past from the Global South, hailing from Argentina.

Gabrielli said his remarks, coupled with the meticulous enlargement of cardinals, bespeak Pope Francis’ imaginativeness of the religion successful each place.

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"The religion successful the U.S. has had a unusual mode of reasoning of itself arsenic thing benignant of exceptional," Gabrielli said.

Highlighting a caller absorption connected regions often considered "flyover countries," Gabrielli said Catholics and non-Catholics volition spot Pope Francis’ interaction done his successor.

"This propulsion to internationalize the cardinal oregon to sojourn places the pope wouldn’t usually sojourn is planting seeds determination that implicit clip volition pb to a deeper consciousness of the planetary church," Gabrielli said.