My Selfie With Francis: The Digital Legacy of an Approachable Pope

New York Times

26-04-2025

Pope Francis was 76 years old when he became pope, an elder statesman in a religion struggling to modernize.
Many of the Catholics he counseled were much younger, but he tried to meet them where they were. Often, that meant smiling for a selfie in what became a symbol of his approachable papacy.
Social media posts and endearing stories from parishioners and fans over the years have accrued — a 21st-birthday blessing, a toddler who snatched the pope's headpiece, a mini-me in a cassock — and become part of his legacy.
At lively appearances and parades that were sometimes compared to the Olympics or a World Cup, people collected the photos. Even priests and papal missionaries were not immune to asking for a picture.
Sometimes, the encounters were quieter, such as that of one artist who was invited to the Vatican to present his work to the pope.
When asked what he made of the selfies, Pope Francis said at a news conference, 'I feel like a great-grandfather!'
But he added: 'It's another culture. I respect it.'
Ash Jurberg, 51
Ash Jurberg, a travel writer from Melbourne, Australia, crossed paths with Pope Francis in 2014 after Mr. Jurberg made a spontaneous detour in his European travels to visit Albania.
Mr. Jurberg booked a trip to Tirana, Albania, for Sept. 20, 2014 — which ended up being the day before Pope Francis would visit the country.
Mr. Jurberg was shocked by the crowds and what he called a 'big, festive atmosphere,' comparing it to the Olympics and the World Cup.
'You could almost hear the buzz as he approached,' Mr. Jurberg said.
As Pope Francis went by, Mr. Jurberg tried to catch him in a selfie on his early generation iPhone but just missed him. Although he didn't get the photo exactly right, and even though Mr. Jurberg is Jewish, he said the day stuck with him.
'I just felt inspired by the whole thing about the impact that one person could have,' he said. 'Not from a religious or a god perspective, but just about making people feel better about themselves.'
Massimo Lobuglio, 44
Massimo Lobuglio, an artist from New York City, has been painting murals of Pope Francis around Manhattan and Brooklyn since 2020.
Mr. Lobuglio said he was inspired by the pope's dedication to protecting the environment, along with his other calls for social justice.
Eventually, his art caught the eye of someone who worked in the Vatican, and he was invited in February to present his art to Pope Francis.
'It was really, really surreal,' Mr. Lobuglio said, adding that he felt that Pope Francis had a 'childlike spirit.'
He presented him with two paintings: one of Pope Francis as a boy, and the other a portrait of Mary painted as a Palestinian woman, because the pope was connected to the Holy Family Church in Gaza.
Mr. Lobuglio said Pope Francis looked at the photo of the young boy and said with a laugh, 'Who is this child?'
Father Eduardo Perdomo, 33
The Rev. Eduardo Perdomo, a resident of Rionegro, Colombia, was part of a group of newly ordained priests who were attending a general audience with Pope Francis on May 1, 2024.
At its conclusion, Father Perdomo, now 33, and his companions were allowed to greet Pope Francis, when Father Perdomo nervously asked for a group selfie.
Pope Francis readily agreed, but Father Perdomo said he was so nervous that his whole body shook as he held the phone.
The moment had special resonance for him: He had studied philosophy and theology in Rome for six years and was a frequent attendee of general audiences with Pope Francis.
'This selfie is like a memory for me to all those things I did when Pope Francis was alive,' Father Perdomo said. 'So now I have this very important memory in my phone, in my office, and also in my heart.'
Mountain Butorac, 50
Mountain Butorac, who leads pilgrimages to the Vatican and other religious sites across Europe and the Middle East, said that he has brought thousands of people to Rome to meet Pope Francis at his audiences.
The first time Mr. Butorac, who is originally from Atlanta, tried to take a selfie with Pope Francis, the endeavor failed miserably, he said.
His phone camera was pointed toward himself, but missed the pope. A Vatican photographer snapped a picture of Pope Francis, but Mr. Butorac's face was covered by his phone.
His first successful selfie came in 2021, when Rome was beginning to open after the pandemic lockdowns. The pope held smaller audiences of around 400 people and he would stop and meet with each one — a perfect opportunity to snap a selfie.
Four years earlier, Mr. Butorac brought his goddaughter to meet Pope Francis — an interaction that became a viral video after his goddaughter snatched the zucchetto, a traditional Catholic headpiece, off the pope's head.
As concerned security guards watched the pope to see how he would react, he burst into laughter.
'He was not a typical head of state. He enjoyed fun,' Mr. Butorac said. 'He would let it show, and he would encourage it.'
Father James Sichko, 58
In the Rev. James Sichko's work as a papal missionary, he estimates that he met with Pope Francis roughly twice a year for nine years and took upward of 20 selfies.
The first came at 4:30 in the morning as Father Jim, as he likes to be called, ran into Pope Francis as he raced to catch a flight and the pope headed to his customary early morning prayers. The last was taken just three days before Pope Francis was hospitalized in February.
Father Jim travels weekly for his work as a missionary, he said. The tag of his carry-on luggage displays one of his selfies with Pope Francis. It often sparks conversations with fellow travelers.
'He was a very human and down-to-earth individual,' Father Jim said. 'He really believed that you were an individual, and that's how he saw you.'
Annie Klare, 25
Annie Klare was studying abroad in Austria in 2021 when her Franciscan University program traveled to the Vatican as part of an eight-day pilgrimage.
Her group joined an audience of 200 people to meet the pope. The leader of her program brought his son, who was dressed as the pope. When Pope Francis saw his mini-me, he 'freaked out,' Ms. Klare said, and took a picture with him.
Ms. Klare snapped a selfie as the pope came by, and certain members of her group who were closer shook his hand.
For Ms. Klare, who grew up Catholic and was studying in a Catholic program, the moment felt special.
'My brother is about to become a priest,' she said. 'So that was just a monumental moment.'
Barbara Anne Kozee, 30
When Pope Francis announced he would stop in Washington, D.C., as part of his first visit to the United States, Barbara Anne Kozee, who was then a student at Georgetown, began scouting the calendar of his visit.
The date of his visit fell exactly on her 21st birthday.
Ms. Kozee, then 30, woke up at 3 a.m. and jockeyed for position at his papal audience, bringing with her a 'super big' sign that read: 'Bless me, it's my 21st birthday.'
As the pope rode by in his popemobile, the sign caught his eye. He mouthed to Ms. Kozee, 'It's your birthday?' and blessed her.
Ms. Kozee, now a Ph.D. student in a theology program at Boston College, said the traditional response would have been to bless herself.
'I was just totally like, you know, flabbergasted that this had just happened,' she said. 'So I blew him an air kiss and then he also blew me back an air kiss.'
Nové Deypalan, 58
Nové Deypalan a music director at a church in Orange County, Calif., brought his choir to sing for Pope Francis in 2017.
The group's travel agency said the pope might make an appearance in St. Peter's Square for New Year's Eve.
Mr. Deypalan's group arrived early enough to get a spot along the barricade among thousands of people. The pope approached the group and shook Mr. Deypalan's hand in a moment captured by a Vatican photographer.
Mr. Deypalan said he grew up Catholic in the Philippines, and it was his third time meeting a pope. But Mr. Deypalan said that Pope Francis's focus on the poor and marginalized populations of the world meant a lot to him.
Mr. Deypalan described Pope Francis as not a 'normal pope.'
'He's very simple,' he said.