Poverty deeply impacted Pope Francis from his childhood in Argentina and continued to shape his outlook throughout his life as head of the Catholic Church, who died in April 2025.

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the capital, Buenos Aires, and had firsthand experience of poverty surrounding him, with people often dying in deeply impoverished conditions.

Argentina has struggled with high and inconsistent poverty rates much like its neighbors. By the end of 2023, it stood at almost 50%, and it came down to almost 28% in 2025. While the numbers are confusing, they show how difficult it is to measure poverty in Argentina, as people report the ground realities of even struggling to eat and live properly.

This prepared his mission to revitalize the idea that many people had forgotten about the origins of Christ himself, as he was born into a poor family and lived in poverty. This journey was initiated by the name he chose when he became pope. The name Francis links back to 13th-century mystic St. Francis of Assisi, who was widely known in his era for promoting the issue of poverty and how it is rooted in the origins of humanity.

This inspired Pope Francis to use his name as a message to highlight the struggles of the poor and advocate for their care.

His Work for the Poor

• Helping the Homeless: Pope Francis welcomed the homeless and poor refugees to the Vatican plaza and often washed the feet of migrants and prisoners. He elevated the status of the poor in spirit by calling them “nobles of the street.”
• Gender Pay Gap: The pope was progressive in providing better opportunities to women and appointed several to positions of power, including Sister Raffaela Petrini as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. He was instrumental in setting equal pay for women and their male counterparts, thereby setting standards around the world.
• Enhancing Global Voice: Pope Francis understood that the Western populace dominated the church, which meant the economically weaker sections often did not receive an opportunity to voice their concerns. This is why the pope changed the order of the church by including more Global South voices, to understand the roots of the poverty problem, appointing cardinals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Philippines.
• Providing Financial Aid: The pope was well known for providing monetary assistance to the needy, and this was seen once again in 2021. Pope Francis took a trip to war-torn Iraq, where poverty has become an ongoing crisis. He did not come there empty-handed but brought $350,000 as aid money, especially for impoverished families.

The Path Ahead

Pope Francis was very vocal about emphasizing the issue of poverty, whether in an address to the United Nations or on one of his trips around the world.

During his 2015 trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, he reiterated how people, especially Catholics, had forgotten about Jesus’s upbringing in poverty and how it should serve as an example to strive to end it. He initiated the World Day of the Poor, where he ate beside people who were often deprived of a single meal every day. By doing this, he attempted to reduce the gap and discrimination among the poor and forge greater acceptance.

– Tanay Ashok Sonthalia

Tanay is based in Melbourne, Australia and focuses on Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay