Pope Francis has been leading the Roman Catholic Church for over two years now. He has been shaking things up by taking a name that no pope has ever used, choosing not to live in the lavish papal apartments, and dedicating himself to the poor more than any predecessor in recent history. He is seen as a much more liberal pope than usual, which has won him both supporters and critics.

On Earth Day, Pope Francis addressed a general audience in Vatican City and spoke about protecting the environment. He said, “I exhort everyone to see the world through the eyes of God the Creator; the Earth is an environment to be safeguarded, a garden to be cultivated.” He plans to address the United Nations about this topic later in the year.

This coming September, the Pope will travel to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families, where he will discuss the importance of family connections and what it means to be a 21st century Catholic family. This will be the 8th World Meeting of Families, and the first to be held in the USA. According to the Huffington Post, it is expected to draw a crowd of one to two million from over 150 countries.

Pope Francis is certainly making waves in the church. Whether anything substantial will come out of his papacy is yet to be seen. But Catholics everywhere are excited to see Francis lead the church.