Francis — The Pope of the Global South: Mission on the Peripheries

Abstract

This article examines the establishment of Pope Francis’s leadership in the Global South through the proclamation of a new missionary orientation, known as the “concept of the peripheries”. The author analyzes two key dimensions of Vatican policy: the social and the ecclesial. Through missions among migrants, the poor, and prisoners, the pontiff not only expanded and cared for the Catholic flock but also consolidated his presence on the peripheries of the Global South. By means of ecumenical rhetoric, an emphasis on the importance of interfaith dialogue, and engagement with the ecological agenda, the Vatican succeeded in strengthening its diplomatic ties in countries where Catholics form a minority. The article concludes that Francis’s papacy shifted the political orientation of the Roman Catholic Church from the European West toward the Global South, and that turning to the peripheries enabled Francis to enhance his status as a geopolitical actor. It is further noted that the election of the new Pope Leo XIV undermines the stability of the Vatican’s “concept of the peripheries”.