Newsom leaves the Vatican with pope's praise for refusing to impose the death penalty

Sitting in a weathered wood chair under the shade of a tree, the governor explained how his Catholic background and the inequities in the criminal justice system influenced his refusal to sign off on executions as governor.

His paternal grandparents were devout Catholics, and his late father, William Newsom, who served as a state appellate court justice, went to church every day growing up, he said.

Later in life, Newsom's father considered himself "a Catholic of the distance," the governor said, and "kind of pushed away" because of the politics of the church.

Newsom said Jesuit teachings at Santa Clara University, where he attended college, spoke a language he appreciated "of faith and works." His own religious beliefs, he said, have always been exercised "around a civic frame."

"The Bible teaches many parts, one body," Newsom said, mentioning a quote he often references. "One part suffers, we all suffer, and this notion of communitarianism.

"You can't get out of Santa Clara University without the requisite studies and sort of a religious baseline: God and common thought-type frames," he said.

As a Catholic and San Francisco native, Newsom said his beliefs follow "the Spirit of St. Francis" and the idea of being good to others, but not necessarily a strict religious doctrine.

The governor said he attended the private Catholic school École Notre Dame des Victoires in San Francisco for a short time during early elementary school. He said his family often attended Glide Memorial, a nondenominational church in San Francisco. The governor said he attended church on Easter with his family.

Newsom mentioned religion at other points during his trip, telling reporters outside the hall where he spoke at the Vatican about the importance of the bridge between science and the pope's moral authority on climate change.

"As we know from church, it's faith and works," Newsom said. "So, as we pray, we move our feet. It's that action with our passion."

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