Pope Francis speaks and understands several languages, though he is most comfortable with Spanish (his native language) and Italian. He is fluent in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Ukrainian, and Piedmontese (a northern Italian dialect). Additionally, he knows Latin (the official language of the Holy See) and has studied Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek for scholarly and liturgical purposes. He also has some knowledge of English, though he openly admits to struggling with it and is less proficient compared to other languages he speaks
. In summary, Pope Francis speaks approximately eight languages to varying degrees of fluency, with Spanish and Italian being the strongest. He prefers to use interpreters for clarity in other languages to avoid misinterpretation
. Languages Pope Francis speaks include:
- Spanish (native)
- Italian
- Portuguese
- French
- German
- Ukrainian
- Piedmontese
- Latin (liturgical)
- Biblical Hebrew (studied)
- Biblical Greek (studied)
- English (basic, struggles with pronunciation)
This contrasts with his predecessors, such as Pope John Paul II, who was fluent in 12 languages, and Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke seven languages fluently
