Sometimes I have to take a tranquilizer to sleep. I keep calm. If I have a problem, I write it down on a piece of paper and give it to St. Joseph. Now he sleeps on it! And I sleep too. It’s a good way to rest.
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"The devil exists, and he is a real person, not a myth."
"The world needs mercy, not condemnation."
"We are living in a culture of waste. This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste of food, which is even more despicable when many men and women, children and elderly, still suffer …"
"The biggest problem is that we don’t feel the problems of others."
"Some people think that, excuse me if I use the word, in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits, but no."
First Latin American and Jesuit pope (2013-), who has steered the Catholic Church toward pastoral inclusion on LGBTQ pastoral care, divorced Catholics, and climate. Closely associated with Pope John XXIII (the Vatican II reformer pope) and Cardinal Walter Kasper (his theological ally on pastoral reform). For an intellectual contrast, see Cardinal Raymond Burke, American traditionalist cardinal, former head of the Vatican Apostolic Signatura — Burke is the public face of Catholic traditionalism that views Francis's pastoral approach as doctrinally dangerous — he has formally challenged Amoris Laetitia and other Francis reforms.
Meeting with priests, religious, seminarians and pastoral workers in Naples
Date: 2015
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When stress makes sleep impossible, Francis describes writing his worries on paper and symbolically handing them to St. Joseph — a practice of conscious surrender. The wry joke that St. Joseph now 'sleeps on it' makes a serious spiritual point: ruminating over problems you cannot immediately solve is futile. Releasing anxiety to something beyond yourself — whether through faith, ritual, or reflection — is a practical path to rest and mental calm.
Francis maintains a specific devotion to St. Joseph, keeping a statue of the sleeping saint on his desk — the exact ritual he describes here. He reportedly prays to St. Joseph daily. Known for pastoral warmth and self-deprecating humor, Francis has also acknowledged personal psychological struggles, including consulting a psychoanalyst in his thirties. His candid admission of taking tranquilizers reflects the frank, non-pious honesty that defines his papacy.
Francis leads a Church under extraordinary pressure: clergy abuse scandals, declining Western attendance, and institutional reform battles, alongside global crises including COVID-19, climate anxiety, and war in Europe. Meanwhile, mental health — sleep disorders, anxiety, burnout — has become a defining cultural conversation. His casual admission of using sleep medication and personal coping rituals resonates in an era when leaders projecting invulnerability are increasingly distrusted.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].
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