Pope Francis

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, led the Catholic Church and served as sovereign of Vatican City from 13 March 2013 until his death on 21 April 2025. He broke multiple precedents: the first pope from the Jesuit order, the first from Latin America, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.

Early life

Bergoglio grew up in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the eldest of five children in an Italian-immigrant family. His father, Mario José Bergoglio, was an accountant from Piedmont who left Italy in 1929 to escape Mussolini’s rule; his mother, Regina María Sívori, was a Buenos Aires-born housewife of northern Italian descent. After graduating from a technical secondary school with a diploma in chemical technology, he worked in a laboratory’s food section, and earlier held jobs as a bouncer and janitor. At age 21, a severe case of pneumonia and three cysts led to the surgical removal of part of a lung.

Training and early priesthood (1958–1973)

Inspired by a priest while on his way to celebrate Spring Day, Bergoglio entered the archdiocesan seminary in Villa Devoto. He joined the Jesuits as a novice on 11 March 1958, after three years there. As a young seminarian, he briefly doubted his vocation due to a crush on a girl.

He studied humanities in Santiago, Chile, and earned a licentiate in philosophy in 1960. He taught literature and psychology at Jesuit high schools in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires from 1964 to 1966. Ordained a priest on 13 December 1969, he served as Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina from 1973 to 1979, became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

Election

After Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the 2013 conclave elected Bergoglio pope on 13 March. He chose the name Francis in honor of Francis of Assisi. His papacy was marked by a humble, less formal style: he lived in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments, wore simpler vestments without ornamentation, refused the traditional mozzetta cape, chose a silver piscatory ring over gold, and kept the iron pectoral cross he had used as cardinal.

Synodal church

He emphasized God’s mercy, prioritized interreligious dialogue, and focused on the poor, migrants, and refugees. He made women and laymen full members of Roman Curia dicasteries, advocated for greater inclusivity toward LGBTQ people, and permitted non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples in the Latin Church. He convened the Synod on Synodality, described as the culmination of his papacy and the most significant Catholic event since the Second Vatican Council.

On global issues, Francis criticized trickle-down economics, consumerism, and overdevelopment, making climate action a central focus. He declared capital punishment inadmissible in all cases and committed the Church to its worldwide abolition.

He opposed right-wing populism and anti-immigration politics, calling migrant protection a “duty of civilization,” and called for the decriminalization of homosexuality. In diplomacy, he helped restore U.S.-Cuba relations, negotiated a deal with China on appointing bishops, signed the Vatican’s first treaty with Palestine, condemned Israel’s Gaza operations, and called for war-crimes investigations. In 2022, he apologized for the Church’s role in Canada’s Indian residential school system.

After declining health and several scares, Francis made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday 2025 and died the next day, Easter Monday, 21 April 2025. The 2025 conclave elected Leo XIV as his successor on 8 May, making him the second pope from the Americas.