Juan Carlos Scannone, SJ (2 September 1931 – 27 November 2019), was an Italian Argentine Roman Catholic Jesuit priest. Scannone earned a Ph.D. from the University of Munich in Munich, Germany. He was an instructor in the Jesuit Seminary of San Miguel in Argentina. There, he was one of the main teachers of Jorge Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis. Arguably, few theologians influenced Francis as much as Scannone. He was is also the leading Argentine formulator of the theology of the people, which is somewhat related to the philosophy and theology of liberation, or liberation theology. The principles of theology of the people articulate a strong embrace of Christianity, coupled with local initiated non-paternalistic ways to help the poor.