Pope Francis and the Culture of Encounter

This article traces the spiritual and theological influences that shaped Pope Francis's signature concept of the “culture of encounter,” examining key figures and thinkers—including the Argentine School theologians Gera and Scannone and ecclesiologist Yves Congar—who informed his emphasis on dialogue, peripheries, and inclusive reform. Analyzing sections 222-237 of Evangelii Gaudium, the author unpacks Francis's four guiding principles (time over space, unity over conflict, realities over ideas, the whole over the parts) as the concrete political expression of this culture. The article concludes by proposing East Asia as a fruitful frontier for applying the culture of encounter in the Church's ongoing diplomatic and pastoral engagement with the peripheries.