Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic church, passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, was known for his progressive ideals within a traditionally conservative institution and advocated for both social and economic justice.
In the weeks before Pope Francis passed, he also shared an important and forward-thinking message about new technology.
"How I would like for us to look less at screens and look each other in the eyes more!" Pope Francis said in an official video message translated from his native Spanish language. "Something's wrong if we spend more time on our cell phones than with people."
The Pope's prayer concerning technology was uploaded just 3 weeks before his passing.
Pope Francis's message was a part of the Pope's "Monthly Intentions" for 2025. Each month, the Pope set a “monthly prayer intention,” where he invited people around the world to join him in prayer on a specific topic. April’s intention, the final monthly intention before his death, was focused on new technology. The intention and related reflections posted to the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network specifically mentioned artificial intelligence, video calls, smartphones, and screen time in general.
"It's true, technology is the fruit of the intelligence God gave us but we need to use it well," Pope Francis said in his April video address. "It can't benefit only a few while excluding others."
In his message, Pope Francis called on using technology to "unite, not to divide." He shared that technology should be used to help the poor, the sick, and persons with different abilities. In keeping with his environmentally-conscious messaging throughout his papacy, Pope Francis also called for using technology to "care for our common home" and to connect with one another.
Ironically, many social media users underlined Pope Francis's point about technology immediately after his death, albeit unintentionally. Once the news broke, social networking platforms exploded with memes, many referencing the 2024 film Conclave about the secretive meeting of Cardinals following a pope's death. Others joked about how Vice President JD Vance was among the final people to see the Pope before his death, meeting Pope Francis on Easter Sunday.
"The screen makes us forget that there are real people behind it who breathe, laugh, and cry," Pope Francis said.
In the April prayer on new technology, the Pope shared his hope that "technology does not replace 'person-to-person' contact, that the virtual does not replace the real, and that social networks do not replace social settings."
He concluded, "Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person and will help us face the crises of our times."
