Pope Francis’ Legacy of Dialogue with Muslims

Twelve years of building bridges between the world’s two largest faiths

With the passing of Pope Francis, there is so much I want to say. But most of all, it is thank you. I am deeply grateful for who Francis was and for the kind of Church he called us to be. And, as a Catholic who has dedicated much of my time and energy to building bridges with Muslims, I have felt deeply affirmed by the fact that Pope Francis also prioritized this during his papacy.

A billboard from Francis’ visit to Najaf, Iraq in 2021. It reads “You are a part of us, and we are a part of you.” It features the Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a globally respected Shi’a Muslim leader.

Over the past twelve years, I have been following Francis’ engagement with Muslims closely. Even before he passed, I was working on a new book on the topic. The book won’t be done for some time, but below I have compiled a list of some of my written work and speaking engagements which discuss Francis’ legacy of strengthening Catholic-Muslim dialogue. I will add more to this list in the coming weeks—I have a few other pieces in the works.

I hope these articles and videos can be helpful to fellow scholars, students, journalists, and anyone who is interested in Francis and his legacy. If you just read one piece, I’d recommend the first one. I published it before Francis’ ten-year anniversary as pope, and it lays out what I think are the key facets of his legacy of dialogue with Muslims.

• “Five lessons from Pope Francis’ commitment to Muslim-Catholic dialogue”

  America Media

  Article (March 2023)

• Interview: “Pope Francis and the Muslim World”

  Middle East Eye’s ‘The Big Picture’ podcast

  Video | Podcast | Short clip/reel (April 2025)

• “Muslims around the world pray for Pope Francis’ health”

  National Catholic Reporter

  Article (April 2025)

• Live interview on Pope Francis’ legacy in Catholic-Muslim relations

  Al Jazeera English

  Video (April 2025)

• Podcast interview on Pope Francis and Islam

  Window Light, a Substack publication by

  Matthew Shadle

  Podcast (October 2024)

• “Understanding Pope Francis’ outreach to Muslims”

  Our Sunday Visitor

  Article (February 2019)

• “Catholic encounters with Muslims frame ‘Fratelli tutti’”

  National Catholic Reporter

  Article (October 2020)

• Interview: “Deep Dive: Why is Pope Francis visiting Iraq?”

  America Media’s ‘Inside the Vatican’ podcast

  Podcast (March 2021)

• The Spirit on the Ground: Pope Francis’ Mass in Amman

  Commonweal

  Article (May 2014)

• Mercy-ing: A Starting Place for Vatican-Azhar Dialogue

  Commonweal

  Article (September 2013)

• Hope for the Pope: Catholic-Muslim relations in the new pontificate

  JordanDenari.com

  Blog post (March 2013)

  

  

Join me in ‘digging our well’ in the comments section below. What were your observations and reactions to Pope Francis’ pontificate? What did you learn? What inspired you? What, perhaps, did you bristle against or disagree with?