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For the biographer of Pope Francis, 10 years into the current papacy, “the church is in a very different place,” with “less anger and defensiveness.” Commentators add that Pope Francis is a pope “who is not afraid to spark controversy” and are certain he’s a “daring” pope “full of surprises.”

Marking the 10th anniversary of his election, Pope Francis concelebrated Mass with cardinals resident in Rome in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Pope Francis focused his papacy on the poor and needy.

In interviews focused on the 10th anniversary of his election, Pope Francis insisted it is not his task to make an accounting of what he has or has not accomplished since March 13, 2013.

The pope reflected on the day’s reading from the Gospel of John (4:5-42), in which Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well at midday.

When Pope Francis greeted the thousands of faithful gathered in a rain-soaked St. Peter’s Square March 13, 2013, he quipped that his brother cardinals looked almost to “the ends of the earth” to find a new bishop of Rome.

Pope Francis’ call for the church to serve those on the peripheries should prompt American Catholics to reimagine their role in U.S. public life, Catholics in politics or public life told OSV News shortly before the pontiff’s 10th anniversary as pope.