'Francis' (16 August 2016).
Patrick "Pat" Marrin is a former U.S Dominican priest, who worked as editor, columnist and house illustrator for The National Catholic Reporter and its sister magazine Celebration. He is best-known for his gentle gag-a-day comic 'Francis' (2013-2025), about Pope Francis (which readers often title 'Pope Francis' in full). The series was also published as a webcomic on GoComics.com. 'Francis' is notable for featuring both amusing straightforward gags and more direct commentary on current issues regarding the Church. Since 2025, the comic has a sequel spin-off based on the new pope, Leo XIV, titled 'The Leo Chronicles'.
Early life and career
Patrick J. Marrin was born in 1945. He studied at St. John's Preparatory School and, from August 1963 on, at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. At one point in his career, he was active as a Dominican priest. Marrin also drew editorial cartoons for The Topeka Capital-Journal in Topeka, Kansas. He later moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he still lives today. Among his main graphic influences are George Herriman and Bill Watterson.
Artwork for Pat Marrin's 'Pencil Preachings'.
Celebration
On 1 July 1997, Marrin became editor for Celebration, a monthly sister magazine of the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). Celebration, founded in 1971, covered upcoming readings for liturgy ministers. It also discussed social and current issues from a Catholic viewpoint. Marrin wrote editorials for Celebration and often provided illustrations to liven up his messages. His graphically decorated column received the title 'Pencil Preaching'. Even though Marrin retired as editor on 1 June 2016, he continued to write and draw for the magazine, until its final issue in 2019. His comic 'Francis' and 'Pencil Preaching' column have since then continued in The National Catholic Reporter and its website.
Pope Francis
Marrin is most notable for his gag strip about Pope Francis, simply titled 'Francis'. On 13 March 2013, the Argentinean Bishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as pope. He took the name "Francis". Pope Francis was a surprising choice, since up to then, all popes had been Europeans. The new church leader quickly became popular, even outside the Catholic community. Nine months after his election, Time Magazine already named him their "Person of the Year" (2013). Thomas C. Fox, publisher of the National Catholic Journal, was so enthusiastic about the newly elected pope that he asked house cartoonist Patrick J. Marrin to make a gag-a-day comic about Pope Francis. On 13 September 2013, the first episode of 'Francis' was printed in NCR's pages, as well as the NCR's blog page, 'The Francis Chronicles'. Starting on 31 March 2014, 'Francis' was additionally posted on GoComics.com, the webcomics portal of the Universal Uclick syndicate. While the official title of the comic is 'Francis', most readers and journalists refer to it as 'Pope Francis'.
A 2015 book compilation of 'Francis' gags was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. In 2016, Joshua McElwee, the correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter in Vatican City, gave this book to Pope Francis himself during a plane trip. The pope liked his present and apparently joked: "So I can have a little fun?". On 1 May 2016, episodes shifted from black-and-white to color. Marrin also introduced two fictional side characters in the comic, the monk Brother Leo and the Somalian Muslim refugee Gabriella who serve as the pope's personal assistants and confidants.
'Pope Francis' (13 February 2017).
Pope Francis: side characters
A few months after the strip's start, Marrin gave Pope Francis a personal assistant, Brother Leo, a well-intended but naïve Franciscan priest. His childish innocence provides a humorous contrast with Francis' fatherly advice. The character also marked a shift in tone. Once Brother Leo was introduced, most of the comedy was provided by him, with Pope Francis taking the role of "straight man". Leo's innocence also offers Marrin the opportunity to make more critical statements about certain real-life issues, without putting them in Francis' mouth. Like Francis of Assisi, Leo is very fond of animals. He has a dog, fittingly named Dogma, and an annoying talkative parrot, Eugenio. He also brought a malnourished donkey, El Don, who is then kept and fed. On 1 May 2016, Brother Leo prayed that their black-and-white comic could appear in color. Slowly but surely, 'Francis' became a full-color comic. The formerly clean shaven Leo now received a brown-haired beard stubble.
The introduction to color also paved the way for a third recurring cast member, who introduced herself to readers on 23 May 2016: the black woman Gabriella. Gabriella is a Somalian refugee who managed to escape from human traffickers. Francis names her his second personal assistant, despite the fact that she is a Muslim. In most episodes addressed as "Gabby", she is a remarkable character in a Vatican-themed comic. Since she is a female Muslim, she offers Marrin the opportunity to voice commentary on Christianity and the Vatican from an outsider's perspective. Sometimes for simple gags that explain certain phenomena within the Church, other times for more critical questions. But overall, she always remains respectful.
'Francis' (30 June 2014).
Pope Francis: style and comedy
Some gags in Marrin's strip are directly based on Francis' public image. He loves football and has a knack for chewing gum (in reference to a real-life Pope Francis chewing gum brand). Other jokes take inspiration from real-life statements or current events surrounding the Holy Father. For instance, when Esquire declared Pope Francis "The Best Dressed Man of 2013", Marrin drew a gag in which the pope admired his wardrobe in the mirror. Most gags, however, are more general funny ideas about Francis' supposed daily life in the Vatican. He is depicted as a playful soul, who does unlikely things for somebody of his age, like roller skating. Marrin often depicts Francis as the "only sane man" in the Vatican. His plans and ideas are often combated by other bishops and he has to compromise between the progressive and more conservative believers.
The comedy in 'Francis' is gentle, varying from puns to slapstick situations. Other gags are more surreal. Sometimes Francis is seen receiving advice from talking paintings and statues. In the 30 August 2018 gag, Francis is irritated that "somebody keeps opening the windows" and sighs: "how much fresh air do we really need?" It turns out that a painting of progressive Pope John XXIII was the culprit. In another gag, Francis' car runs low on fuel, so he uses holy water instead of gasoline. In reference to a real-life quote by Pope Francis that he has "many Marxist friends", one gag shows him inviting the Marx Brothers to the Vatican and telling Karl Marx he'll be "right with him." In another episode, the pope is given red slippers and suddenly finds himself in Kansas, a nod to the film 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Characters sometimes break the fourth wall too. Every Easter, Christmas and New Year, Pope Francis and his assistants wish the reader happy holidays. In other gags, they acknowledge they are comic strip characters. In a gag printed on 14 June 2018, Brother Leo and Gabriella wonder what news outlets they can still trust these days. Leo then says: "Cartoons are make-believe, but they remind us to know the difference between reality and lies, between what is silly and what is sacred", while Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes, Patrick McDonnell's Mutts and Walt Kelly's Pogo appear out of nowhere. In another gag (27 June 2019), Leo and Gabriella are confronted by a disapproving priest, who starts condemning them until Leo pops his speech balloon with a needle. And in a gag printed on 30 January 2020, Francis sighs: "We live in a cartoon world where hope and love prevail", whereupon Gabby shows him Marrin's signature, which she found in the right corner of the final panel.
'Francis' (30 January 2020).
While the 'Francis' strip generally avoids controversy, Marrin doesn't shy away from occasionally addressing real-life issues and specific events. In one episode, Pope Francis is told that the public wants a pope who is "more pro-life", only showing him in the final panel celebrating life with a huge crowd of admirers. In another gag, a reporter asks why it took so long before the Pope responded appropriately to the child abuse scandals within the Church. A Vatican spokesperson replies: "As you might expect, the Pope always insists on carrying his own baggage", showing the pope next to his luggage, burying his head in his hands from either exhaustion or shame. Several gags advocate religious tolerance, also towards people from different faiths. In line with Christian teachings, helping the poor and needy and hoping for a better world are recurring themes. Marrin also makes a stance against global warming. Some political commentary is very direct. In one gag, Marrin criticized conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, while several others attacked U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration. Over the course of the series' decade-long span, 'Francis' has commented on ongoing events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in 2024 during his imprisonment, Marrin commemorated him in an episode of 'Francis'. When pop singer Sinéad O'Connor died in 2023, Marrin drew a gag in which Gabriella hangs a poster of Sinéad next to paintings of Christian saints. A remarkable cartoon, given the singer's frequent criticism of sexual abuse within the Church.
'Francis' (29 February 2016).
The comic also dares to criticize the Church at times. In one gag, Francis is surrounded by the "experts on family life", who are all male bishops, and then asks the reader: "What's wrong with this picture?" And in a 25 January 2018 gag, the Vatican is haunted by the ghosts of "former popes stuck here to work off their sins". Another recurring criticism is the discrepancy between the wealth of the Vatican Bank and Christian teachings about poverty and modesty. In one gag Francis is angry with all the "corruption, blackmail and scandal". One priest assumes he's talking about the mafia, but the other informs him: "I wish! It's the Roman curia." When a group of bishops in the 14 April 2016 cartoon express their worries that the Pope meeting representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church is "bad for Rome", a man selling Catholic-themed souvenirs passes by, saying: "Tell me about it." In fact, real-life Pope Francis has also condemned the greed of capitalism. In an episode posted on 29 January 2024, the pope poses for a photograph amidst representatives of various Christian ideological branches, under the banner "Christian unity", while intolerant archbishop Raymond Burke is sitting grimly at the side, with the photographer telling him there is "still room for him in the picture." The comic also frequently questions the Church stance on not accepting female priests, mostly through the Pope's female assistant Gabriella.
'Francis' (14 September 2015).
The Brother Leo Chronicles
Marrin drew 'Francis' almost non-stop from 2013 until 2025, with only a few interruptions due to vacation and an arm injury in August 2023 that left him unable to draw for a month. During its long run, some gags hinted that if the real-life Pope Francis would abdicate or die, the comic might not end, but instead potentially continue as a spin-off, centering on Brother Leo and Gabriella. That day came on 22 April 2025, when Francis passed away. Marrin posted a special farewell episode a day later, with the late pope walking off in the sunset, while Brother Leo observes that "depending on your point of view, he's actually getting bigger."
For a while, it was uncertain whether this meant the end of Marrin's papal comic,. But when Francis' successor, Robert Francis Prevost, became the first American pope and took the name Leo XIV, it seemed more likely that the series would simply continue. After all, Marrin and Prevost share the same nationality and, in another odd coincidence, one of the recurring cast members in 'Francis' was already named 'Brother Leo'. Since 12 May 2025, the series is retitled 'The Leo Chronicles', with Brother Leo and Gabriella making their return. On the website GoComics, Marrin announced that while the title might possibly change again, he confirmed that Brother Leo and Gabriella will become assistants of Leo XIV in a new narrative.
Other comics about popes
'Francis' has sometimes incorrectly been named "the first comic about a real-life pope." This is not entirely true. In the past, Pius XII inspired no less than three comic books. 'Pope Pius XII: Man of Peace' (1950) was released by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society and scripted and drawn by an unknown artist. Pflaum Publishing published 'Pius XII: The World Is His Parish' (1954), with stories by Lloyd Ostendorf and Bob Powell. Belgian comic artist Jan Waterschoot drew 'Pius XII: Apostel van de Vrede' (1958). Waterschoot's fellow countryman Jef Nys drew two biographical comic books about two different popes, namely Pius X and John XXIII. John XXIII also inspired 'The Story of Pope John XXIII' (1962), drawn by Joe Sinnott. John Paul II was subject of a 1982 comic book by Steven Grant, published by Marvel, and 'The Life of Pope John Paul II' (Papercutz, 2006), scripted by Alessandro Mainardi and drawn by Werner Maresta. Guy Lehideux and Dominique Bar collaborated on four graphic novels about popes: two about John Paul II ('Karol Wojtyla, de Cracovie à Rome', [2002] and 'L'Infatigable Pèlerin' [2003])), Benedict XVI ('...et Benoît XVI: La Succession' [2006], 'Benoît XVI - Ouvrier à la Vigne du Seigneur' [2023] and Pope Francis ('Avec Benoît XVI et le Pape François', 2014). Pope Benedict XVI was even given a biographical manga, 'Habemus Papam!' (Manga Hero, 2011), scripted by Gabrielle Gniewek and drawn by Sean Lam. And then there are several more critical and blasphemous comics, like 'De Papevreters - Popebusters' (1985), by Jef Meert & Lukas Moerman, and 'De Vliegende Paap' (1985) by Bert Verhoye and Zak, both Belgian comics about Pope John Paul II.
But Marrin's comic strip is unusual in the sense that it was a gag-a-day comic about a current pope. Most humor comics with the Pope in a starring role tend to be satirical and therefore critical. Marrin's comic, however, is enjoyable to all audiences. He was also the first artist to make a comic specifically about Pope Francis, though not the only one. An Italian comic magazine, Papa Francesco A Fumetti ("Pope Francis Comics"), hit the market on 28 November 2013. The main artist behind it is Aldo Barrese. Its debut issue sold extraordinarily well and on 10 February 2014 paved the way for an educational app, the 'Pope Francis Comics' app, co-produced by Edizioni Master (Master New Media) and the Italian public TV channel RAI. It adapts the papal messages in comic strip format, specifically rewritten to be understandable to children. Another comic about Pope Francis is the biographical comic 'Faith Series: the Life of Pope Francis' (Storm Comics/Bluewater, 2016), written by Michael Frizell and drawn by Vincenzo Sansone. A second cover design was drawn by Pablo Martinena. Another notable cartoonist who made comics about Pope Francis is U.S. editorial cartoonist Ted Rall, in his graphic novel 'Francis. The People's Pope'.
'Francis' (19 June 2017).