8.59. Didn’t Pope Francis choose the name “Francis” because he follows the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi?
When Jorge Bergoglio stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s in 2013 and announced his name as “Francis,” many assumed he was aligning himself with St. Francis of Assisi, the humble saint of poverty, peace, and love for creation. But this was a deceptive appropriation. The real St. Francis was a fierce defender of Catholic doctrine, a zealous missionary, and a man who revered the Holy Mass and the priesthood.
By contrast, Antipope Francis has spent his “pontificate” promoting false religions, heresy, and moral relativism, hosting pagan worship at the Vatican, and denying central truths of the Faith. He bears no resemblance to the real St. Francis—only to a fabricated, post-conciliar caricature designed to support Vatican II’s errors.
Below is a side-by-side comparison showing that St. Francis and Jorge Bergoglio preach opposite gospels—one of Christ crucified, the other of man glorified.
| Category | St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226) | Antipope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeal for Souls | Preached repentance, confession, conversion to the Catholic Faith | Promotes universal salvation, rarely mentions sin or hell | True charity warns souls of eternal damnation |
| View of Heresy | Condemned heretics and exhorted their return to the true Church | Calls heretics “beloved brethren,” condemns proselytism | St. Francis saw heresy as a threat to salvation, not a “diversity” |
| Religious Dialogue | Went to Muslims to preach Christ crucified; offered to die for the Faith | Prays with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists; says false religions are “willed by God” | One evangelized; the other dialogued. They are opposites. |
| Ecumenism | Defended the uniqueness of the Catholic Church | Promotes unity without conversion; signed Abu Dhabi document | St. Francis risked martyrdom for the truth; Francis denies it |
| View of the Mass | Wept before the Blessed Sacrament; adored Christ’s Real Presence | Mocks “rigid” traditional liturgy; allows liturgical abuse worldwide | St. Francis begged priests to treat the Eucharist reverently |
| Moral Teaching | Practiced heroic chastity and called others to repentance | Invites unrepentant adulterers to Communion; affirms LGBT lifestyles | St. Francis embraced penance; Bergoglio preaches false mercy |
| View of Creation | Saw creation as reflecting God’s glory and leading to conversion | Uses “Laudato Si” to promote climate change politics and globalism | St. Francis praised God’s creation; Bergoglio deifies nature |
| Relationship to the Papacy | Was obedient to Pope Innocent III; promoted reverence for the Roman Pontiff | Undermines papal tradition, magisterium, and his own predecessors | Bergoglio mocks what St. Francis honored |
| Humility | Wore sackcloth, lived in poverty, embraced suffering | Lives in Vatican luxury, speaks constantly of his own humility | True humility is silent; self-praised humility is pride |
| Fruits | Conversions, religious fervor, vocations, reform of morals | Mass apostasy, irreverence, doctrinal confusion, empty seminaries | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
St. Francis of Assisi was a Catholic saint who loved Jesus Christ, adored the Holy Eucharist, revered the priesthood, and risked death to convert infidels. He is not the "environmentalist pacifist" portrayed by modernists, but a man of truth, zeal, and suffering for the Gospel.
Jorge Bergoglio, who dared to take the name “Francis,” promoted religious indifferentism, moral permissiveness, and a globalist, anti-Catholic agenda. He bore no resemblance to the Seraphic Saint except in outward name. He was not the successor of Peter—but an antipope, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and a false prophet of the Vatican II religion.
As St. Francis prophesied:
“The devil will try to lead astray even the elect... there will be a Pope elected not canonically... he will strive to draw many into error and death.”