Pew: Pope Francis ‘broadly popular’ among US Catholics throughout his papacy

Pope Francis, now hospitalized with severe respiratory issues, has been “broadly popular among the nation’s Catholics throughout his tenure,” according to multiple surveys conducted by Pew Research over the past 12 years.

Pew has assessed U.S. Catholic opinion about the pope since 2013, finding that “at least 80 percent” of the country’s Catholics “have expressed a favorable opinion of him in 10 of the 15” surveys the research institute has administered on the topic.

Overall, 53 percent of U.S. adults regard Pope Francis either very or mostly favorably.

Pope Francis has on balance enjoyed greater popularity than his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, whose approval rating was at 67 percent in 2005, the first year of his pontificate; 74 percent in 2007, 2008 and 2013; and 84 percent in 2008.

In contrast, Pope Francis’ ratings have ranged from 72 percent in 2018 to as high as 90 percent in 2015.

Pew’s latest survey on U.S. Catholic views of Pope Francis — which polled 9,544 adults online and by phone Feb. 3-9, just days before the pope’s Feb. 14 admission to Rome’s Gemelli hospital — found his approval had increased to 78 percent, up from 75 percent at the same time last year. From 2020-2021, 82 percent-83 percent of the nation’s Catholics reported viewing Pope Francis favorably.

Both Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were outranked in Pew’s surveys by Pope John Paul II, whose ratings were 91 percent in 1987, and 93 percent in 1990 and 1996.

At the same time, Pope Francis’ overall favorable ratings are marked by what Pew called a “large partisan divide” throughout the 2013-2025 survey period.

In 2013, 84 percent of Republican or Republican-leaning U.S. Catholics approved of Pope Francis, compared to 77 percent of their Democratic or Democratic-leaning peers.

By 2018, the trend had reversed, and the gap had widened, with 83 percent of the latter and 61 percent of the former approving.

As of 2025, 88 percent of Democratic or Democratic-leaning U.S. Catholics view the pope favorably, with 69 percent of their Republican or Republican-leaning peers expressing the same.

A February 2024 survey conducted by Pew showed that 42 percent of U.S. Catholics viewed Pope Francis as representing a major change in direction for the Catholic Church. Among those who regarded him unfavorably, 54 percent said Pope Francis marked a major change for the Church.

Still, Pope Francis’ popularity spans several demographic groups among U.S. Catholics, including the following: men (79 percent) and women (77 percent); white (non-Hispanic) and Hispanic, both 78 percent; and ages 18-29 (79 percent), 30-49 (77 percent), 50-64 (78 percent), and 65 and over (78 percent).

In addition, the pope is highly regarded by U.S. Catholics regardless of their level of Mass attendance, scoring approval ratings of 80 percent with those attending weekly or more and of 77 percent among those attending monthly, annually, seldom or never.

Drawing on data from both its Religion in Latin America project and Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey, Pew also reported that most Latin American Catholics view Pope Francis — a native of Argentina — favorably, although those shares have declined from 2013-2024.

In 2013, the pope enjoyed a 98 percent rating among Argentina’s Catholics, which fell to 74 percent as of 2024. Other downturns reported among Latin American Catholics during the same period include those in Colombia (93 percent to 88 percent), Brazil (92 percent to 84 percent), Mexico (86 percent to 80 percent), Peru (83 percent to 78 percent) and Chile (79 percent to 64 percent).

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