Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, died on April 21, 2025. Soon after the announcement of his death, people shared various statements and quotes he made over the course of his term.
On April 21, 2025, for example, users on X and Facebook shared posts claiming Francis said: "This isn't dogma, just my thought: I like to think of hell as being empty. I hope it is."
Francis did indeed say the above words during a January 2024 interview on an Italian television talk show. We thus rate this claim as a correct attribution.
On Jan. 14, 2024, Francis appeared on the popular Italian TV show "Che Tempo Che Fa." In the interview, Fabio Fazio, a television presenter, asked Francis how he "imagined hell." According to a translation from the Catholic News Agency, a news network that provides coverage of the Catholic Church to an English-speaking audience, Francis replied: "What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith but my own personal view: I like to think of hell as empty; I hope it is."
The exchange can be seen here on Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera's website, and on the Italian show "Che Tempo Che Fa's" official Facebook page.
Snopes reporters Jack Izzo and Aleksandra Wrona translated the interaction from its original Italian to English:
FAZIO: And as a consequence of these words, it's also difficult to imagine hell. Like a father who condemns [us] for eternity, it's hard to imagine, really.
FRANCIS: Eh, yes, it's hard to imagine. What I'm about to say isn't dogma of faith, it's something personal, something I like. I like to think of hell as empty, [this thought] pleases me. I hope it's reality, [this thought] pleases me.
The catechism, or summary of doctrine, of the Catholic Church states hell is real:
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.
Per the Catholic News Agency, the catechism also states: "In hope, the Church prays for 'all men to be saved.'"
Since Francis became Pope in 2013, there have been numerous false stories about him — particularly death hoaxes. Snopes looked into whether he "requested" marriage rights for Catholic priests (a mixture of true and false) and whether he once called transgender people "children of God" (correct attribution). A compilation of all the rumors Snopes covered about Francis can be found here.
In short, Francis did express hope that hell would be "empty."