“A church without women would be like the apostolic college without Mary. The Madonna is more important than the apostles, and the church herself is feminine, the spouse of Christ and a mother.”

Pope Francis was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 2013 until his death in 2025. Born and raised in Latin America, he was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from outside Europe since Gregory III in the 8th century. He led the Catholic Church for more than a decade and was widely noted for breaking long-standing historical patterns in the papacy. His public words often reflected the role he held, especially as he spoke as the church’s chief pastor and as the ruler of Vatican City.