What Pope Francis taught us about communications

On a wet and windy night in Rome in March 2013, an unfamiliar figure emerged onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, dressed in plain white robes and bearing a name never previously used by a pontiff - Francis. 

Popes have preached to the world for centuries, but this Pope would go on to transform the way communication was used by the papacy, harnessing the basics of tone, empathy and messaging, whilst embracing modern methods and mediums. 

With news of his passing and a funeral set for this Saturday in St Peter’s Square, the world remembers a Pope whose communication style chose humility over grandeur, action over rhetoric and who practised what he preached. 

Popes choose their own papal names to set the tone of their papacy. Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose to be known as Pope Francis for symbolic reasons; St Francis of Assisi was a 13th-century friar known for his love of the poor, animals and ecology. Despite his immense status and popularity with the faithful, St Francis had never had a papal namesake. 

It was fitting for Pope Francis - a man from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who had once worked as a nightclub bouncer and trained as a chemist - to model his papacy around simplicity, humility and causes close to his heart, such as the environment. 

Optics are important when in high public office, as well as building authenticity and relatability, two things that leaders often struggle to achieve. 

Where past Popes resided in lavishly furnished papal apartments, Pope Francis chose a “modestly furnished” guesthouse. Whilst others rode in limos, he used a gifted Renault 4. And while the Vatican remains one of the most tradition-laden institutions in the world, Pope Francis was not afraid to strip it down and open it up.

His communication style was famously unorthodox and direct. As Radio 4 put it this morning, Pope Francis lived in a “Franciscan manner”, embodying the phrases of St Francis to “evangelise, evangelise, evangelise” and to “preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” 

His most memorable moments were when he realised the best way to communicate was through his actions rather than the use of rhetoric.  Actions speak louder than words, the Pope believed, as demonstrated by recently kissing the feet of Sudanese leaders in a plea for peace, making daily calls to a Gaza church for the past year or, in his final testament, choosing to be buried not in the traditional three coffins beneath St Peter’s basilica, but in a simple wooden casket at the Basilica of St Mary Major. 

Pope Francis’ reach extended far beyond the confines of the Catholic faithful. He was the first Pope to come from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere and brought with him a perspective shaped not by the gilded halls of the Vatican or Europe, but by life in the bustling city of Buenos Aires. 

Unlike previous Popes that spoke just to their base and mainly on religious matters, Pope Francis sought to transcend boundaries to reach a global audience, on global issues. Speaking on common ground, not just sacred ground. 

Many also saw him as a bold reformer in a Church that often resists reform. Pope Francis sought to tackle sexual abuse scandals head-on.He also addressed the role of LGBT people within the Church calling for compassion, famously saying “Who am I to judge?”

And he was also the first environmentalist Pope; in the same way his inspiration St Francis was seen as an environmentalist. 

He gave the climate crisis a moral and theological priority. His 2015 book, Laudato si', was more than a religious document but more of a global call to arms, urging care for our “common home.” He decried the pursuit of profit at the expense of the Earth and for a focus on the poorest. 

Later in his papacy, he warned that the world was approaching a "breaking point" and called for an urgent move away from fossil fuels. He knew that his words would cut through throughout the world, not just amongst Catholics – and he decided to use his platform for issues that mattered to him. He spoke plainly, in a down-to-earth manner, and acted what he preached – three key communication objectives that leaders would do well to copy.  

Pope Francis is a case study in message and delivery working together. He understood the power of symbolic communication in a digital age. Actions such as choosing to ride the bus with fellow cardinals or hug poorly people were not orchestrated stunts - they were genuine moments of connection that were amplified across the world. These images often went viral, not because of PR, but because their authenticity cut through. 

He embraced social media as a platform to deliver messages direct to his audience. Under his leadership, the @Pontifex account delivered concise, human-centred reflections. Legacy brands are able to digitalise, as long as the tone is correct and authentic – something that Pope Francis well understood. 

His directness, such as FaceTiming Gazans in church, or personally phoning those in Ukraine, showed that even the head of the Catholic Church could be personal and present. 

The Pope also seemingly understood the role of stories, as during his papacy several films were made about him himself, as well as the Vatican – usually a very secretive place. He knew that audiences remember stories more than news. 

Blockbuster films like The Two Popes didn’t just reflect modern culture, they also depicted the type of Pope that Pope Francis seemed to want to be. Conclave was another recent box office success, showing the process that the Church is about to go through in order to appoint a new Pope. The Vatican website and the X account, in keeping with the modern communicator he was, has already been updated to read “Apostolica Sedes Vacans” – Latin for “the seat is vacant”. 

Perhaps most strikingly, Francis used transparency as a strategic tool. In contrast to Vatican opacity, he made public statements about abuse, corruption and reform. He invited scrutiny not to weaken the Church or his message, but to build transparency, understanding, authenticity, trust and belief.

He was a Pope who walked the walk and who, in my view, set out a path for future Popes to follow.