Pope Francis waves to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday (March 19) at the Vatican. RNS photo by Andrea Sabbadini
Fortune magazine today released its list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and guess who came in at Numero Uno? Yep:
Francis recently asked the world to stop the rock-star treatment. He knows that while revolutionary, his actions so far have mostly reflected a new tone and intentions. His hardest work lies ahead. And yet signs of a “Francis effect” abound: In a poll in March, one in four Catholics said they’d increased their charitable giving to the poor this year. Of those, 77% said it was due in part to the Pope.
Well, they may be overstating the statistical “Francis Effect,” as other polls don’t show many behavioral changes. But no doubt there’s been a major shift.
And Francis’ leadership faces many tests, but he has really begun to shake up the Vatican bureaucracy AND the culture of the church.
Can he succeed? Or will “Pope and Change” wind up the same way “Hope and Change” has?
Come to mention it, President Obama isn’t even on the list. But the POTUS will be meeting the Pope next week in the Vatican, their first encounter. Maybe he’ll get some tips?
By the way, some other notables on the list:
- Bono (8)
- The Dalai Lama (9)
- Angelina Jolie (21)