Pope Francis' life took him from his modest upbringing in Buenos Aires, leading the Roman Catholic Church as the first Jesuit craftsman and the first church from Latin America.
During his 12 years as Pope, Francis consistently raised the causes of immigration and disenfranchised, urging the Church to more forcefully confront the history of scandal. His efforts to make the church more inclusive were welcomed by his supporters and many Catholics, but some conservatives were pushed back when he changed from traditional teaching.
1936
Deeply religious boy
Pope Francis was born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires to Jorge Mario Bergolio. His parents were immigrants from Italy, and he was the eldest of five brothers. As a boy, he was intelligent, deeply religious and loved to dance tango.
1952
Religious calling
When he was 16, Jorge was in a hurry to meet a friend, but felt the urge to pause at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buenos Aires and enter. In the sanctuary, it felt like “someone grabbed me from within.” He said. He later joined the seminary.
1969
Oriental
After 13 years of study, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was appointed priest.
1973
Jesuit leader
Father Bergoglio became head of the Jesuits, the order of the priests in Argentina. At the time, the country was in the midst of a “dirty war” where the ruling military junta tortured, murdered or “disappeared” over 30,000 people. Father Bergoglio was later faced with accusations that he had done little to protect the two priests in the view of the anti-government that he had been lured and tortured by the regime. He denied the allegations and said he protected priests and others by pushing military personnel behind the scenes.
1979
exile
Father Bergoglio's tenure as head of the Jesuits ended in controversy, with critics accusing him of having an autocratic style of management. Church authorities sent him to a de facto exile in Frankfurt, Germany, and then to Cordoba, Argentina.
1992
A surprising turn for the bishop
Father Bergolian exile was suspended when he was unexpectedly appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buenos Aires. He became archbishop six years later, focusing on outreach to the poor. He was promoted to Cardinal in 2001.
2013
The first Latin American Pope
Francis was elected clergy after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, citing medical concerns. Francis tried to distress the church from divisive issues such as abortion and homosexuality, and instead focused on climate change, poverty and migration. His first papal trip was at Lampedusa, an Italian island that became a beacon for asylum seekers and immigrants.
2014
Dealing with sexual abuse
Francis has established a committee to deal with the church clergy sexual abuse scandal. It included victims of abuse and tried to hold the bishop accountable, but ultimately the efforts fell apart.
2014
US-CUBA Contract
The US and Cuba have recovered diplomatic relations for the first time in decades. Francis was believed to have helped bridge the gap between President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro, leading to a historic breakthrough.
2015
Encourage action towards the environment
Francis released “Laudat SI, “There was the first Pope's ability to focus solely on the environment. It denounced the excesses of global capitalism, exploiting the poor, hoping to protect the environment.
2015
American herd trends
During his six-day trip to the United States, Francis became the first Pope to address Congress.
2016
Playing cards and spat
Francis repeatedly tried to stand up to nationalism. During the US presidential election, he suggested that Republican candidate Donald J. Trump is “not a Christian” because he prefers to build walls over bridges. Trump replied: “It is dishonorable for religious leaders to doubt a person's faith. I am proud to be a Christian.”
2017
Travelling to Egypt
Francis sought close ties with other religions, particularly in places where Catholics are at risk of persecution. At a meeting in Cairo, he condemned the “demagogical form of populism” and violence that made it seem like liety.
2018
Trade with China
Francis reaches a temporary agreement with the Chinese government and ends a decades-long power struggle over the right to appoint a country's bishop. The deal gave the church more access to China, but justified the seven bishops appointed by Beijing.
2019
Push to protect minors
Francis has published the church's most comprehensive response in decades to the sexual abuse crisis. It required church officials around the world to report cases of sexual abuse and efforts to hide them from their superiors. However, authorities did not require that the abuse be reported to police. This is an omission that infuriated the victim.
2019
Amazon Summit
A conference of bishops from the Amazon region recommended that Francis be allowed to ordained married men as priests in remote areas of South America. He showed openness to the idea, but ultimately put the proposal aside.
2020
Pandemic Blessing
On Good Friday, from the dark and abandoned St. Peter's Square, Francis blessed and called for solidarity around the world to confront the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, Italy was being blocked amid a deadly wave of virus.
2022
Apologies to Indigenous people
During his visit to Canada, Francis begged for forgiveness from the country's indigenous people for the “evil” given by Christians. He also apologised for the church's role in running residential schools where Indigenous children were abused and many died.
2023
Efforts to include women
For the first time, Francis will hold a conference of World Bishops, including women, and give birth to people as voting members. The conference broached some of the church's most sensitive topics, such as the role of women, singleness, and priestly marriage status situations, as the conference was known, but their policies remained unchanged. After the meeting, Francis allowed the priest to congratulate the gay couple.
2025
Death and legacy
Francis passed away Monday at 7:35am. This passed away less than a day after blessing the faithful who gathered at Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square. He appeared on the balcony on Sunday, seeing frailty and after blessing the crowd, he repeated to Vatican aides to speak to the crowd on his behalf.
Francis has dealt with serious health issues over the past few months, including severe respiratory infections that sent him to hospital for weeks.
He leaves behind a legacy of inclusion and activities that have often been spoken about supporting immigrants, marginalized, and the environment.
Ali Watkins Reports of contributions.
