Fact Check: Did Pope Francis Kiss Rothschild Family Member’s Hand? Know Truth Behind Viral Photo

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<h2 style=”margin: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;”>The Verdict [Misleading]</h2>
<p>The Pope is kissing Holocaust survivor Eliezer Grynfeld&rsquo;s hand&mdash;misidentified online as ‘John Rothschild’ in a false viral claim.</p>
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<h3><strong>What is the claim?</strong></h3>
<p id=”isPasted”>A viral image circulating on social media purports to show Pope Francis kissing the hand of “John Rothschild.” The photo includes overlaid French text stating: &ldquo;Pope Francis kisses the hands of David Rockefeller, John Rothschild, and Henry Kissinger.&rdquo;</p>
<p id=”isPasted”>Social media users shared the image alongside captions criticizing the Pope for allegedly associating with elite figures. One user (archived <a id=”isPasted” href=”https://archive.ph/LTLLH” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=”” data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=”” data-darkreader-inline-color=””>here</a>) commented in French: &ldquo;A Pope who licks the Zionists is not an envoy of God but a person subject to Satan for the destruction of humanity!!!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Another post (archived <a id=”isPasted” href=”https://archive.ph/WC6WZ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=”” data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=”” data-darkreader-inline-color=””>here</a>) read: &ldquo;This utterly shameful photo shows where the power really lies: Church/state mutual back-scratching. While the majority of religious believers are sincere in their beliefs, the religious institutions are firmly embedded with the ruling elites in every religious country.&rdquo; Additional archived posts can be found <a href=”https://archive.ph/XFLXG” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=”” data-darkreader-inline-color=””>here</a><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=””>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href=”https://archive.ph/LA2Hl” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=”” data-darkreader-inline-color=””>here</a><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=””>.&nbsp;</span></p>
<figure class=”image”><img src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/04/24/cd15b657655143f8e4a25871235457341745488604774236_original.jpg” alt=”Screenshots of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts) ” width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Screenshots of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)</figcaption>
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<p id=”isPasted”>Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 2013, <a href=”https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.html”>passed away</a> on April 20, 2025, at age 88 in his residence at the Vatican&rsquo;s Casa Santa Marta. <a href=”https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-dead-01ca7d73c3c48d25fd1504ba076e2e2a”>According to the Vatican</a>, he suffered a stroke that led to a coma and subsequent heart failure.</p>
<p id=”isPasted”>The Rothschild family, a prominent Jewish banking dynasty, has long been the target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The criticism aimed at Pope Francis appears tied to his public support for <a id=”isPasted” href=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/22/catholic-church-gaza-grieves-pope-francis-death”>Gaza</a>and his repeated criticism of Israeli policies.</p>
<p id=”isPasted”>However, we found that the viral image does not show Pope Francis with any member of the Rothschild family. In fact, all individuals in the image have been misidentified. Moreover, there is no evidence of a Rothschild family member named &ldquo;John Rothschild.&rdquo;</p>
<h3><strong>What are the facts?</strong></h3>
<p id=”isPasted”>A reverse image search traced the viral photograph to a <a href=”https://www.afpforum.com/AFPForum/Search/ViewMedia.aspx?mui=1&amp;hid=A87BFB8A05F828922730CD9D44F325BF954F839F025D82CDDF48E213FD4DC04E”>post&nbsp;</a>by AFP dated May 26, 2014. The caption reads: “Pope Francis (C-L) shakes the hand of holocaust survivor Eliezer Grynfeld (C-R) during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II. Pope Francis denounced the ‘abyss’ of the Nazi genocide which claimed the lives of six million Jews as he visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.”&nbsp;</p>
<figure class=”image”><img src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/04/24/d2d7dcb7cc7a063af28a21ccf92a4ddc1745488838336236_original.jpg” alt=”Image of Pope Francis and Eliezer Grynfeld published by AFP. (Source: AFP/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)” width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Image of Pope Francis and Eliezer Grynfeld published by AFP. (Source: AFP/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)</figcaption>
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<p id=”isPasted”>A similar report <a href=”https://www.euronews.com/2014/05/26/pope-francis-kisses-hands-of-holocaust-survivors-“>published&nbsp;</a>by Euronews on the same date, headlined &ldquo;Pope Francis kisses hands of Holocaust survivors,&rdquo; confirmed the Pope kissed the hands of Holocaust survivors on the final day of his visit to the Middle East.</p>
<p id=”isPasted”>The Yad Vashem website, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, also <a id=”isPasted” href=”https://www.yadvashem.org/pope-visits/francis/meetings.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-darkreader-inline-bgimage=”” data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=”” data-darkreader-inline-color=””>shared</a> photos of six Holocaust survivors who met the Pope that day. One of them, wearing a Jewish kippah, can be identified as the man seen in the viral image.</p>
<p>Footage of the event, shared by Yad Vashem, shows Pope Francis greeting the survivors. At the 13:15 mark of the video, he can be seen interacting with each individual. The video description states: &ldquo;Pope Francis was accompanied on this visit by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev, and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. The visit included a memorial ceremony, a greeting with six Holocaust survivors, an address, and a signature in the guest book.&rdquo;</p>
<figure class=”image”><img src=”https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2025/04/24/b478a3e6a4570dc0dd5130e01320d4f31745488990891236_original.jpg” alt=”Comparison of the survivors in the image by AFP and the image by Yad Vashem. (Source: AFP/Yad Vashem/Modified by Logically Facts)” width=”720″ />
<figcaption>Comparison of the survivors in the image by AFP and the image by Yad Vashem. (Source: AFP/Yad Vashem/Modified by Logically Facts)</figcaption>
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<p id=”isPasted”>These confirmations make it clear that the individuals in the viral photo are not John Rothschild, David Rockefeller, or Henry Kissinger.</p>
<h3><strong>The verdict</strong></h3>
<p id=”isPasted”>The viral image falsely claims to show Pope Francis kissing the hand of a member of the Rothschild family. In reality, the photograph was taken during his 2014 visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, where he greeted and kissed the hands of Holocaust survivors. The man in question is identified as Eliezer Grynfeld, not &ldquo;John Rothschild.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em><strong>This report first appeared on <a href=”https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/fact-check/unrelated-photo-shared-as-pope-francis-kissing-a-rothschilds-hand” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>logicallyfacts.com</a>, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.</strong></em></p>