Pope Francis sought to improve relations and dialogue with people of other Christian faiths, with those of other religious beliefs, and with non-believers.
Ecumenism General overview During the 2016 Octave of Christian Unity, Pope Francis "asked forgiveness for the way Catholics had treated other Christian believers over the years, and also invited Catholics to pardon those who had persecuted them".
In a December 2013 interview with La Stampa, Pope Francis emphasized his commitment to ecumenism, stating: "For me, ecumenism is a priority. Today, we have the ecumenism of blood. In some countries they kill Christians because they wear a cross or have a Bible, and before killing them they don't ask if they're Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics or Orthodox. The blood is mixed". During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis addressed the attendees of the John 17 Movement gathering, opining that "Division is the work of the Father of Lies" and that he "knows that Christians are disciples of Christ: that they are one, that they are brothers! He doesn't care if they are Evangelicals, or Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic... he doesn't care! They are Christians. And that blood (of martyrdom) unites. Today, dear brothers and sisters, we are living an 'ecumenism of blood'. This must encourage us to do what we are doing today: to pray, to dialogue together, to shorten the distance between us, to strengthen our bonds of brotherhood".
After Francis' death in 2025, Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches said that he would be mourned and his papacy would be recalled as "a great gift to the ecumenical movement ... he has been a dedicated collaborator in our efforts toward Christian unity and reconciliation".Pillay, J., Pope Francis, ecumenical prophet of mercy, dies at age 88, World Council of Churches, published on 21 April 2025, accessed on 19 September 2026
Old Catholicism In October 2014, Pope Francis met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church's Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht, led by the Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the International Old Catholic Bishops Conference, Joris Vercammen. The Pope reflected on the shared ecumenical journey of the two churches since their 19th-century schism over the issue of papal primacy. The Pope called for Catholics and Old Catholics to "persevere in dialogue and to walk, pray and work together in a deeper spirit of conversion", and said there are "many areas in which Catholics and Old Catholics can collaborate in tackling the profound spiritual crisis affecting individuals and societies, especially in Europe".
Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy
Francis has been recognized for his efforts "to further close the nearly 1,000-year estrangement with the Eastern Orthodox Churches".Ritter, Karl, "Pope Francis reaches out to Jews", HuffPost, 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013 Antoni Sevruk, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome, said that Pope Francis "often visited Orthodox services in the Russian Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral in Buenos Aires" and is known as an advocate on behalf of the Orthodox Church in dealing with Argentina's government.Faustova Milena, "Orthodox flock of Rome: hopes are high for the new pope" , Radio, the Voice of Russia (english.ruvr.ru), 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
Francis's positive relationship with the Eastern Orthodox Churches is reflected in the fact that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople attended his installation.Demacopoulos, George E., "The extraordinary historical significance of His Holiness' presence at Pope Francis' installation as Bishop of Rome" , Archon News (Order of St. Andrew the Apostle), 19 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013 This is the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 that the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, a position considered first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Church, has attended a papal installation. Orthodox leaders state that Bartholomew's decision to attend the ceremony shows that the relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches is a priority of his, but they also note that Francis's "well-documented work for social justice and his insistence that globalization is detrimental to the poor" may have created a "renewed opportunity" for the two Church communities to "work collectively on issues of mutual concern".
In 2013, Pope Francis received Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, in the Vatican.
On 12 February 2016, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, met in Havana, Cuba, issuing the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, calling for restored Christian unity between the two churches. This was reported as the first such high-level meeting between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054.
On 28 April 2017, Pope Francis participated in an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo, Egypt, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II. This historic event appears to be the first time that the two Christian popes and the ecumenical patriarch have met together.Joshua J. McElwee (2017). "In Egypt, Francis appeals for peace", National Catholic Reporter. 19 May – 1 June 2017. p. 6.
Oriental Orthodoxy
In May 2013, Pope Francis met with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria in the Vatican. The meeting coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first visit by a Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria to the Vatican, when Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria met with Pope Paul VI on 10 May 1973. Francis reflected on the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, saying that the visit "strengthens the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that already exist between the See of Peter and the See of Mark", and praised the Commission for Theological Dialogue for preparing ground for dialogue between the Catholic Church and Oriental Orthodox churches. Pope Francis also acknowledged the two churches shared beliefs in the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, Marian devotion, apostolic traditions, and the seven sacraments. In September 2013, Pope Francis met with Paulose II of the Malankara Orthodox Church. During their meeting, both heads discussed their progress in ecumenism and focused on what both churches plan on for the future. At the end of Pope Francis' speech he called upon the intercession of Sts. Peter and Thomas to bless the faithful of both churches. He said, "Let us pray for one another, invoking the protection of Saint Peter and Saint Thomas upon all the flock that has been entrusted to our pastoral care. May they who worked together for the Gospel, intercede for us and accompany the journey of our Churches". In May 2016, Pope Francis sent a letter to Tawadros II, acknowledging their shared commitment to holiness and defending the dignity of human life and celebrating friendship between Catholics and Coptic Orthodox Christians. The Pope said, "we are able even now to make visible the communion uniting us".
In June 2015, Pope Francis met with Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The two primates discussed their desire to work toward full communion between their two churches, stating that Antioch and Rome are the only two Apostolic Sees where St. Peter the Apostle had preached. They also expressed an eagerness to celebrate Easter on a common date, as Catholics and Oriental Orthodox have separate days for Easter.
During his papal visit to Armenia in 2016, Pope Francis prayed inside Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the oldest state-built church in the world, alongside the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II. During the prayer service, the Pope asked for and received a blessing from Catholicos Karekin II. The Pope spoke about the Christian faith of the Armenian people and how Armenia became the first nation to accept Christianity as its official religion, even while persecutions under Emperor Diocletian were prevalent in the Roman Empire. The Pope also gave thanks for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church and the steps they have taken "for the sake of coming to share fully in the Eucharistic banquet".
In February 2017, the Pope met with Coptic bishops at the Vatican to discuss the violence against and persecution of Christians in the Middle East. His declaration in 2023 that 21 Copts who had died as martyrs in Libya (see 2015 kidnapping and beheading of Copts in Libya) would be added to the Roman Martyrology, was seen as a demonstration of "ecumenism of blood".
Assyrian Church of the East Pope Francis has met with the heads of the Assyrian Church of the East: he met with Mar Dinkha IV and, later, with his successor Gewargis III, emphasizing the need of interfaith dialogue and the importance of Christianity in the Middle East, the traditional homeland of the Assyrian people.
Protestantism
Anglicanism Gregory Venables, Anglican bishop of Argentina and former primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, said that Cardinal Bergoglio had told him very clearly that the personal ordinariates established within the Catholic Church for groups of former Anglicans was "quite unnecessary" and that the Catholic Church needed Anglicans as Anglicans. A spokesman for the ordinariates said the words were those of Venables, not the Pope. Pope Francis met for the first time the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, when he visited the Vatican, on 14 June 2013. The Roman Pontiff said that they both shared the same concerns for social justice, peace and the promotion of Christian values, in matters like marriage. The second meeting took place at the Vatican, on 16 June 2014, with Pope Francis and Justin Welby recommitting themselves to work against modern slavery and human trafficking. Pope Francis has expressed his support for the Anglican realignment, sending through his personal friend, Gregory Venables, a message to the Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America, a newly formed church outside of the Anglican Communion and not officially recognized by the archbishop of Canterbury, with his "personal greetings and congratulations as he leads his church in the very important job of revival" and asking Venables to embrace him on his behalf. It was presented during Archbishop Beach's enthronement, which took place at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, on 9 October 2014.
Lutheranism
On 31 October 2016, Pope Francis commemorated the 499th anniversary of the Reformation with Lutherans in Sweden. This event opened the 500th year since the Reformation began with Martin Luther posting his Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg in 1517. The Pope visited the 950-year-old Lund Cathedral, located in Sweden's southernmost and originally Danish province of Scania. He celebrated an ecumenical liturgy together with the president of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Dr. Munib Younan. Pope Francis expressed his shared desire with leaders of the Church of Sweden to achieve full communion, but said more ecumenical work needed to be done to work towards communion. The two churches called for focusing on what unites their faith rather than what separates them from each other (Pope Francis previously made a similar treaty with the Orthodox Church.) The following day the Pope conducted a Catholic Mass at a football stadium in Malmö.Both the Ecumenical commemoration and the Catholical mass were aired live and commentated at Swedish national, commercial free, television distributor, SVT