On March 13, 2013, the papal conclave elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 266th Pope of the catholic church. From the very beginning, Francis was challenging the norm, even with his origins. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. He is also the first Pope to to take the name Francis, and is known for his humility, commitment to helping the poor, and as a bridge builder between people from all different backgrounds and faiths.
Whether his widespread acceptance is a direct result of his genuine goodness or something else, it cannot be denied that Public Relations has a hand in his already well known image. Our four example will further explore the events and people that are shaping the image of Pope Francis.
- Paige Tyson will be looking at the use of Twitter as a form of Public Relations, specifically Uses and Gratifications Theory. First, some facts and statistics on the creation and growth of the account. Then, Twitter’s role in World Youth Day, and how the Vatican is modernizing their methods in reaching followers in the church.
- Carissa Clark will be focusing on Pope Francis’ friendly letter to atheists, published by Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. It has been cheered by Catholics who welcomed another sign of the pontiff’s new openness to the world beyond the Vatican walls. This example will show the use of Situational Theory in trying to reduce restraints against Atheists and urging involvement from them in the Vatican Church.
- Kara Lester will be focusing on World Youth Day. Every two to three years the Catholic Church holds a three-day event to celebrate and learn about Jesus Christ. This past summer the thirteenth World Youth Day was celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pope Francis attended and led the youth in mass, a vigil and celebration of Jesus and the Catholic Church with the hopes of empowering the youth and getting them more involved in the church.
- Jonathan Ng will be focusing on Pope’s Francis’s attempt to gain prominence in international relations by cooperating with Vladimir Putin and the United Nations to remedy the crisis in Syria through peaceful negotiations. By taking the steps to develop a six-point peace plan and opposing violent solutions, it affirms his commitment to respecting human rights and religious freedom. This is an example of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory in trying to influence the ideas United Nations leaders through his peace plan and instill a change in behavior.
All of our examples take place from the moment the Pope was elected in March of 2013 to present day. Also, our examples come from media sources such as press releases, social media accounts, and Youtube videos involving Pope Francis’ outreach efforts. Although he has been appointed to be Pope for a short amount of time thus far, he has shown to make a tremendous impact using Public Relations on people of all ages with different religious and social backgrounds.
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