Pope Francis — The Road to Sainthood

A Life Given to Christ and the Church

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, became the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church on March 13, 2013. He was the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name Francis, choosing the name in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi.

His pontificate was marked by a persistent emphasis on the Gospel's call to mercy, service, poverty of spirit, care for creation, and closeness to people living at the margins of society. Yet the question of sainthood is not determined simply by the popularity of a pope, the importance of his office, or the affection with which Catholics remember him. In the Catholic Church, canonization is a formal ecclesial judgment concerning the holiness of a person's life and the evidence surrounding that life.

Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in the Vatican, at the age of 88. His funeral was celebrated on April 26, and, according to his wishes, his remains were laid to rest in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. (Vatican)

A Pope Who Chose the Name Francis

The name Francis immediately placed the new pontificate under the spiritual horizon of Saint Francis of Assisi: poverty, humility, peace, fraternity, and a radical dependence upon God.

Francis repeatedly returned to the conviction that Christian discipleship must become visible in concrete acts of mercy. His vision of the Church was not principally one of institutional self-protection, but of a Church going outward toward those who needed Christ's mercy. His writings and homilies continually returned to the person of Jesus Christ, the mercy of God, the poor, the stranger, the suffering, and the responsibility of Christians to live the Gospel rather than merely speak about it.

This emphasis was particularly evident in his first major apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, in which he called the Church to missionary discipleship and to renewed proclamation of the Gospel.

Holiness Is More Than a Reputation

Catholic tradition makes an important distinction between a reputation for holiness and a declaration of sainthood.

A person may be remembered as holy by millions of people, yet canonization requires a formal investigation. The Church examines the person's life, writings, virtues, reputation for holiness, and other evidence. The ordinary path proceeds through the stages of Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. (Vatican News)

The process is deliberately careful. The Church does not canonize someone merely because that person was admired, held a prestigious office, performed good works, or was beloved by the faithful.

That distinction matters when considering Pope Francis.

Is Pope Francis Currently on the Road to Sainthood?

As of September 25, 2026, Pope Francis has not been declared a Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, or Saint.

More importantly, I have found no official Vatican announcement that a formal cause for his beatification and canonization has been opened.

This means that it would be premature to describe Pope Francis as a candidate who has formally entered the canonical process. The Church's terminology matters. Once a diocesan cause is officially opened, the person receives the title Servant of God, beginning the first formal stage of the investigation. (Vatican News)

There is also normally a five-year waiting period after death before a cause can be introduced, although the Pope can dispense with that requirement, as happened with the causes of Saint John Paul II and Saint John XXIII. (Vatican News)

Therefore, Francis's death in April 2025 does not itself mean that his canonization process has begun.

His Final Journey to Santa Maria Maggiore

One of the most deeply personal aspects of Pope Francis's final years was his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Throughout his pontificate, Francis repeatedly visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray before the ancient Marian icon known as the Salus Populi Romani, traditionally translated as "Protectress of the Roman People."

He visited the basilica before and after his apostolic journeys and entrusted his travels to the protection of the Mother of God. The basilica consequently became closely associated with his prayer life. (Vatican News)

In his spiritual testament, dated June 29, 2022, Francis requested that his mortal remains be buried at Saint Mary Major, writing that throughout his life he had entrusted himself to the Mother of the Lord. He requested a simple tomb bearing only the name Franciscus. (Vatican News)

That wish was fulfilled. His tomb is located in the left-hand aisle of Saint Mary Major, between the Pauline Chapel and the Sforza Chapel, near the altar dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. (Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore)

The Franciscan Question

There is something fitting about examining Pope Francis's life beside the saint whose name he chose.

Saint Francis of Assisi was not remembered because he possessed worldly power. His holiness was expressed through radical conversion, poverty, prayer, humility, love of Christ, and service.

Pope Francis likewise repeatedly presented Christianity as a way of life rather than merely an intellectual identity. He spoke often about mercy because he understood mercy as belonging to the heart of the Gospel. He spoke about the poor because Christ Himself identifies Himself with those in need. He spoke about creation because he regarded the created world as God's gift entrusted to humanity.

Whether the Church eventually judges his life to meet the canonical requirements for sainthood is a matter for the Church's discernment and process.

A Pontificate of Mercy

One of the words most closely associated with Francis was mercy.

For Francis, mercy was not simply sentiment. It was inseparable from conversion, forgiveness, reconciliation, and the encounter between the sinner and the merciful God.

His Jubilee of Mercy, celebrated from December 2015 through November 2016, placed Divine Mercy at the center of the Church's pastoral life. The initiative reflected a theme that had been present throughout his priestly and episcopal ministry: that the Church must proclaim God's mercy while inviting people toward conversion and holiness.

This is an important point when considering a possible future cause for canonization. The Church would not simply ask whether Francis spoke about mercy. It would examine how the Christian virtues were actually lived throughout his life.

His Legacy in the Church

Francis also left a significant institutional and theological legacy.

During his pontificate, he canonized 942 saints, including 23 through equivalent canonization, and beatified more than 1,500 people. He also established the Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses to the Faith in 2023, seeking to preserve the testimony of Christians who gave their lives for the Gospel, including witnesses whose circumstances do not fit neatly within the traditional juridical category of martyrdom. (Vatican)

The irony is striking: Pope Francis spent much of his pontificate participating in the Church's discernment of the holiness of others. He authorized decrees concerning miracles, martyrdom, heroic virtue, and the offering of life. (Vatican News)

Now history will examine his own life.

What Would Sainthood Require?

If a formal cause for Pope Francis were eventually opened, the Church would investigate his life according to the canonical procedures governing causes of saints.

The investigation would consider his Christian virtues and reputation for holiness, along with his writings, actions, relationships, pastoral ministry, and the circumstances of his life. If the Church eventually recognized heroic virtue, he could be declared Venerable. A recognized miracle attributed to his intercession would ordinarily be required for beatification, followed by another miracle for canonization. (Vatican News)

There are exceptional procedures in the Church's history, including equivalent canonization, and the Pope retains authority concerning the canonical process. But these exceptions do not mean that the ordinary requirements simply disappear.

Sainthood is ultimately not a popularity contest.

The Church Must Discern

The Catholic Church does not need to decide immediately whether Pope Francis was a saint.

The Church can pray for the repose of his soul, remember the good he accomplished, study his writings, consider his example, acknowledge his shortcomings as a human being, and leave the final judgment concerning his canonical cause to the competent ecclesial authorities.

This is especially important because canonization is not a declaration that a person was flawless. The saints were human beings who depended upon God's grace. Holiness is not the absence of human weakness; it is the extraordinary work of God's grace in a human life.

Pope Francis himself repeatedly directed Catholics away from the glorification of personalities and toward Christ.

A Life Placed in God's Hands

The final image of Pope Francis's earthly life is therefore not simply that of a pope who occupied the Chair of Peter.

It is the image of an elderly priest and bishop who, after twelve years of leading the universal Church, entrusted his final resting place to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

His tomb at Saint Mary Major is deliberately simple. His testament asked that his remains await the Resurrection there. The inscription contains only one word: Franciscus. (Vatican News)

Whether the Church one day places his name among the saints remains to be discerned.

For now, the appropriate Catholic posture is neither premature canonization nor premature judgment. It is prayer, gratitude for what was good, honest historical remembrance, and confidence that the Church will discern the matter according to the wisdom of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis is no longer the Bishop of Rome.

He now belongs to history.

And, as with every Christian, the deepest question is not how history remembers him, but whether his life ultimately points us toward Jesus Christ.

May the soul of Pope Francis, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.