In the weeks following the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, a wide variety of videos alleging to showcase the pontiff's heartwarming relationship with his dog circulated on the internet.
Some videos told an elaborate tale of the pope's trusted canine companion, usually named Esteban or Tiberio, refusing to leave his bedside or, in others, his gravesite. Another video on TikTok (archived) showed Pope Francis in bed petting the alleged dog, while another video on Instagram (archived) claimed his last request was to see the dog.
A different YouTube video simply featured a single image of the pope hugging the pup along with a Spanish-speaking voice-over sharing a tale about the duo's relationship. Yet another alleged a cardinal broke down in tears when he realized the dog was still waiting for the late pontiff days after his death.
These claims weren't accurate, however. While the narrative presented by these videos showcased an uplifting tale of human-canine companionship, it was false. The videos were generated through the use of artificial intelligence, including video, voice-over and photographs that are not real.
One YouTube video sharing the claim, alleging the pope owned a dog named Tiberio, featured a disclaimer in the description that the video's "content may be gossip, rumors, educational fictional stories, exaggerated or indirectly outside the truth. Viewers are advised to do their own research before forming their opinion. Content may be opinionated, for educational or entertainment purposes."
Further, a different YouTube video sharing a near-identical claim but featuring a dog named Estaban was labeled as featuring "altered or synthetic content," meaning "sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated."
Further, despite purporting to be authentic and true, the videos assert the dog exists while admitting there is no photographic or video evidence to prove it, nor any mentions of a dog companion in biographies or appearances in portraits of Pope Francis.
Snopes reached out to the Vatican via email for comment on these claims, including whether Pope Francis actually owned a dog, and will update this article should we receive a response.
Pope Francis, so-named after St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, made comments on pet ownership throughout his papacy. In 2022, the BBC and The New York Times reported that Francis said, "We see that some people do not want to have a child … Sometimes they have one, and that's it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children. This may make people laugh, but it is a reality … [it] is a denial of fatherhood and motherhood and diminishes us, takes away our humanity."
Francis' comments echoed an interview he gave earlier in his tenure to the Rome Daily Il Messaggero, in which he responded to a question about pets having more importance than children.
The pope answered, "This is another phenomenon of cultural degradation. This is because the emotional relationship with animals is easier, more programmable. An animal is not free, while having a child is a complex thing."
While these comments may appear to suggest Pope Francis was not quite the animal lover of his namesake, there was plenty of public evidence to the contrary.
For example, searching "Pope Francis dog" on Getty Images returned a bevy of images of the pope petting various pups with a smile on his face. Some of these images were used in the YouTube videos, mixed in among AI-generated imagery. Further, a video featured on The Associated Press from Jan. 25, 2025, showed Pope Francis enjoying a performance by a canine circus performer and petting it.
In a 2015 publication from the Diocese of Manchester, Parable Magazine, the Rev. Michael Kerper, the pastor of Saint Patrick Parish in Nashua, New Hampshire, wrote, "the Holy Father has simply suggested that people think carefully about the fundamental differences between animals and human beings. The elevation of pets to equality with humans may actually cause lonely people to turn their affections away from people toward animals, thereby deepening their isolation."
In 2014, The New York Times reported on comments from Pope Francis that renewed discussion within the Catholic Church on whether animals have souls and can enter heaven after they die — a long-standing point of debate in the Roman Catholic community and subject to various interpretations from pope to pope.
Snopes has covered a variety of claims related to Pope Francis in the wake of his passing, including that "The Simpsons" predicted his death date, that he once said "I like to think of hell as being empty" and that photographs authentically captured him riding the subway.