Abstract

Media debates discussing the pope’s profile engage not only the messages he spreads but also the narrative that surrounds him as an individual. The integration of the narrative that surrounds pope Francis into the practices he advocates, are a key component of his media profile. To work as a coherent symbol, the aesthetic representations need to be relatable to audience values and expectations. Media narratives are used to conceptualise, define, and regulate pope Francis’ place and role in the catholic universe. In doing so he utilises the existing protocols of religion, media and public space. This paper discusses how media representations of pope Francis, are linked to the narratives that surround him as an individual. Narratives are understood here to mean, media representations that are fuelled by ideas outside of the media discourse, where they come from, is beyond the scope of this analysis, but are brought in to explain certain acts and statements that are made by the pope within the media sphere. This managing of the codes and content is aimed at the audience, and media professionals as a consequence «encode» their broadcasts and publications. Looking at audience responses to this, however, is also beyond the scope of the paper. So whilst the «media product» is carefully manicured, and the Vatican has its reasons for doing so, the media product we see on television or the internet is the outcome of a complex process or a complex interaction among several players, of which the media are certainly one of the most important but, again, not the only one. However, for the purpose of this analysis the media will be the «player» whose contribution is analysed. It does so by discussing: (1) how the media protocols of public discourse affect the framing of religious identities, (2) how media define the aesthetic parameters of religious expression, and (3) how the conceptualisation(s) of pope Francis are linked to carefully defined narratives. Findings suggest that the aesthetic elements (media representations of pope Francis), provide information to the audience through the codes and conventions of media and religion, but that the framing of those elements is informed by the overarching discourse that surrounds pope Francis. In doing so, the media representations reflect not only what is going on here and now, but also the larger narrative that surrounds the papacy and what pope Francis means for Catholicism today.