Pope Francis Receives Phone Call During General Audience

This was at least the fourth phone call Pope Francis has taken during a general audience in the last two years. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pope Francis taking an urgent phone call this morning at the General Audience <a href="https://t.co/VhAh6SuQgZ">pic.twitter.com/VhAh6SuQgZ</a></p>&mdash; Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) <a href="

Pope Francis taking an urgent phone call this morning at the General Audience pic.twitter.com/VhAh6SuQgZ

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) December 22, 2021

Pope Francis answered the phone during general audiences in August and December 2021. He was also spotted speaking on the phone from the popemobile at the beginning of an audience in March. 

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Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on March 15, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

During this week’s audience, the pope shared the story of St. Francis Xavier, who he said is considered “the greatest missionary of modern times.”

“May St. Francis Xavier, who did great things in such poverty and with such courage, give us some of this zeal, this zeal to live the Gospel and proclaim the Gospel,” Pope Francis said.

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.