Pope Francis was elected in 2013 after Benedict XVI retired. He is the first Latin American pope in history and the first from the Americas. Before he was pope, he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires.
He chose the name Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi, who is revered among Catholics for his work with the poor.
Francis, seen at left with his brother Oscar, was born on December 17, 1936. He was the eldest child of Mario and Regina Bergoglio, Italian immigrants in Argentina.Francis as a young boy. Family PhotoFrancis with his parents in 1958. HandoutFrancis was ordained as a priest in 1969. In high school, he studied to become a chemical technician.Francis poses for a photo during an Easter procession in 2000. A couple of years earlier he had become the archbishop of Buenos Aires.In 2001, Francis was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II.Francis greets parishioners in Buenos Aires. Claudia Conteris/AFP/Getty ImagesThe future pope washes a woman’s feet at a maternity hospital in Buenos Aires in 2005.Francis meets Pope Benedict XVI, the man he would eventually succeed, while on a trip to the Vatican in 2007.Francis takes public transportation before celebrating Mass in Buenos Aires in 2008. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio took the bus to work and cooked his own meals.Francis holds Mass outside a church in Buenos Aires in 2009. Natacha Pisarenko/APFrancis gives holy communion to Roberto Bendini, Argentina’s former army chief, in 2009.Francis waves to the crowd from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after he was elected as the 266th pope on March 13, 2013. Benedict XVI had announced his retirement a month earlier, citing his ‘advanced age.’ Gregorio Borgia/APPeople watch the new Pope after he was introduced at the Vatican. In addition to being the first Latin American pope and the first from the Americas, Francis is also the first Jesuit pope. He’s also the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years. ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty ImagesA day after his election, the Pope pays his lodging bill at the Paulus VI, where he stayed during conclave.The Pope answers reporters’ questions while flying back from a trip to Brazil in July 2013. During the impromptu news conference, the Pope said that he would not ‘judge’ gays and lesbians, including gay priests. ‘If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?’ he said. Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.In November 2013, the Pope dons a red nose with members of the Rainbow Association Marco Iagulli Onlus. The charity uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages. Realy Easy Star/Alamy Live NewsFrancis was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2013.The Pope is presented with a gift by Argentine President Cristina Fernández during a private audience at the Vatican in March 2014.Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have an audience with the Pope during their one-day visit to Rome in April 2014.A balloon flies past the Pope during his general audience in St Peter’s Square in May 2014.Francis prays next to a rabbi at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City in May 2014. The Pope went on a three-day trip to the Holy Land, and he was accompanied by Jewish and Muslim leaders from his home country of Argentina. VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Pope signs a guestbook while meeting with bishops in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2014.Francis waves to the faithful during a weekly audience at the Vatican in October 2014.The Pope kisses a girl during a special audience at the Vatican in November 2014.Francis blows out candles on a cake as he celebrated his 78th birthday in December 2014.Pope Francis prays on the floor of St. Peter’s Basilica while observing Good Friday in April 2015.People in Quito, Ecuador, gather near a huge video screen broadcasting the Pope’s visit to the city in July 2015.Francis shakes hands with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in September 2015. During his trip to Cuba, the Pope praised the reconciliations taking place between Cuba and the United States. Alex Castro/APThe Pope talks with US President Barack Obama while visiting the White House in September 2015. It was the fourth time a pope had visited the United States.Francis addresses a joint session of the US Congress in September 2015. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Pope waves to a crowd from the US Capitol in September 2015. DOUG MILLS/The New York Times/ReduxFrancis arrives to speak to the UN General Assembly in September 2015. Bryan Thomas/Getty ImagesThe Pope celebrates Mass at New York’s Madison Square Garden during his trip to the United States.The Pope kisses a baby at the Vatican in October 2015. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty ImagesFrancis tries on a traditional sombrero he received as a gift from a Mexican journalist while on a flight to the country in February 2016.The Pope meets migrants at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in April 2016. He received an emotional welcome during a visit in which he showed solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty. Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister’s Office/Getty ImagesFrancis passes the main entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former concentration camp in Poland, in July 2016. The Pope was there to pay tribute to those who died in the Holocaust.The Pope releases a dove as a symbol of peace while in Tbilisi, Georgia, in September 2016.Francis and a group of cardinals meet with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a chapel at the Vatican in November 2016.The Pope poses with members of the International Rural Catholic Association while at the Vatican in December 2016.Francis and Pope Tawadros II, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, sign a joint declaration in Cairo in April 2017. Francis was on a two-day trip to Egypt to forge Muslim-Christian brotherhood and show solidarity with the country’s persecuted Coptic Christian minority. L’Osservatore Romano/APFrancis stands with US President Donald Trump and his family during a private audience at the Vatican in May 2017. Joining the President are his wife, Melania, and his daughter Ivanka.The Pope speaks to the crew aboard the International Space Station in October 2017. It was the second papal phone call to space: Pope Benedict XVI rang the space station in 2011.Francis leads the Way of the Cross torchlight procession in front of the Colosseum in Rome in March 2018.The Pope is greeted by a group of nuns at the Vatican in August 2018. Andrew Medichini/APFrancis arrives with the ‘popemobile’ in St. Peter’s Square in October 2018. Gregorio Borgia/APFrancis celebrates Mass as seven new saints were recognized in October 2018. Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Getty ImagesPope Francis is framed by cell phones as he greets people at the Vatican in January 2019.The Pope celebrates Mass in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in February 2019. It was the first time a pope has visited an Arab Gulf state, and it was the first time a pope had celebrated Mass in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam. Francois Nel/Getty ImagesThe Pope attends a conference in Naples, Italy, in June 2019. Marco Cantile/LightRocket/Getty ImagesFrancis receives Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation in July 2019. Vatican Pool/Getty ImagesThe Pope walks with cardinals during a Palm Sunday Mass in April 2019. Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Pope greets people at the Vatican in September 2019. Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe Pope delivers a speech during a meeting of religious leaders at a university in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2019. Thailand was the start of a seven-day Asia trip that also saw the Pope visit Japan. Gemunu Amarasinghe/APThe Pope walks out from Assumption Cathedral as young people reach out to touch him in Bangkok.The Pope delivers his weekly blessing from the window of his private library in March 2020. St. Peter’s Square is normally swarming with tens of thousands of visitors, but the Vatican was on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Alessandra Tarantino/APThe Pope prays with priests in a Vatican courtyard in September 2020. Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty ImagesFrancis, surrounded by the remains of destroyed churches, is driven in Mosul, Iraq, in March 2021. The Pope was in Iraq for four days. It was the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, and it was Francis’ first trip outside Italy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yara Nardi/ReutersThe Pope celebrates Easter Mass in April 2021. Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty ImagesFrancis shakes hands with a man dressed as Spider-Man while visiting with people at the Vatican in June 2021. The masked man, who works with sick children in hospitals, also gave a Spider-Man mask to the Pope. Franco Origlia/Getty ImagesThe Pope holds Mass at the Vatican in September 2021. Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty ImagesUS President Joe Biden gives the Pope a challenge coin during his trip to the Vatican in October 2021. Between them is Italian translator Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann. Challenge coins originated in the military, and this one included the insignia of a Delaware Army National Guard unit that Biden’s son Beau served in. Biden said during his visit that coins are given to ‘warriors and leaders’ and that the pope is ‘the most significant warrior for peace I’ve ever met.’People take pictures of Pope Francis at the Vatican in November 2021. Remo Casilli/ReutersThe Pope boards a flight to Malta in April 2022. Alessandra Tarantino/APThe Pope shows a flag that was brought to him from Bucha, Ukraine, during one of his general audiences at the Vatican in April 2022.Francis greets US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as he leads Mass at the Vatican in June 2022.The Pope leads a prayer from his window at the Vatican in June 2022. Remo Casilli/ReutersThe Pope dons a headdress while visiting with Indigenous people in Maskwacis, Alberta, in July 2022. As he kicked off a weeklong “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, Francis spoke of his “sorrow, indignation and shame” over the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in residential schools. He apologized and promised a “serious investigation” into what happened.The Pope speaks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa during their meeting in Awali, Bahrain, in November 2022.The Pope leaves Ndjili International Airport to attend a meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in January 2023. Francis’ visit to the DRC — the first papal visit since 1985 — was part of a six-day trip that also included South Sudan. In those two countries, Catholics comprise about half of the population and the Church is a key stakeholder in health and education systems as well as in democracy-building efforts. Vatican Pool/Getty ImagesThe Pope leaves Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square in April 2023. It was a day after he was discharged from the hospital, where he was treated for a respiratory infection.Pope Francis meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican in May 2023. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and the Pope since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Pope has been outspoken in his support for an end to the war. Vatican Pool/Getty ImagesThe Pope waves to people in St. Peter’s Square in June 2023. He was on his way to a Rome hospital for abdominal surgery. The procedure was to repair a hernia that the Vatican said was causing “recurrent, painful and worsening” symptoms. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty ImagesPope Francis is welcomed by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa after landing in Lisbon, Portugal, to attend a World Youth Day gathering in August 2023.Pope Francis greets a child during a welcoming ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in September 2023.Pope Francis appears on a giant monitor set up in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square in December 2023. Francis led his customary Angelus prayer from his home rather than from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace overlooking the square. He was suffering from what he described as “severe bronchitis,” and he was avoiding being exposed to the cold weather. Andrew Medichini/APThe Pope drinks mate offered by Argentinian pilgrims who were visiting the Vatican in January 2024.Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in February 2024. He was later taken to the hospital with flu symptoms.Pope Francis takes part in a working session on artificial intelligence during the G7 summit near Bari, Italy, in June 2024. Francis, the first pope to participate in the summit, is determined to use the soft power of his office to try to ensure that the development of AI serves humanity and does not turn into a 21st-century Frankenstein’s monster. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty ImagesIndonesia’s President Joko Widodo and Pope Francis watch as the honor guards march past during a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 4, 2024. Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesPope Francis greets people from a car after leading a Holy Mass at the Esplanade of Tasi Tolu in Dili, East Timor, on September 10, 2024.
