Lumen fidei
His first encyclical, on faith as a light for the journey. Begun by Benedict XVI and completed by Francis.
17.XII.1936 – 21.IV.2025
Pope Francis
Jorge Mario Bergoglio · 266th Pope of the Catholic Church (2013–2025)
Jesuit, Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the first pope from the Americas. For twelve years he spoke to the world about mercy, the poor and care for our common home.
Rest in peace.
Biography
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in the Flores neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. He was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio, a railway accountant who had emigrated from Piedmont, and Regina María Sívori. He qualified as a chemical technician and, after discovering his vocation, entered the Society of Jesus in 1958. He studied humanities in Chile and philosophy and theology at the Colegio Máximo in San Miguel, and taught literature and psychology.
He was ordained a priest on 13 December 1969. At only 36 he became provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina (1973–1979), during the difficult years of the military dictatorship. He was later rector of the Colegio Máximo, pursued studies in Germany and served as a confessor and spiritual director in Córdoba.
In 1992 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, and in 1998 he became archbishop of the city. He was known for his austerity: he lived in a simple flat, cooked his own meals and travelled by bus and underground. He supported the “slum priests” who served in the poorest neighbourhoods. John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2001, and in 2007 he led the drafting of the Aparecida document, which shaped the Church in Latin America.
After the resignation of Benedict XVI, the conclave elected him on 13 March 2013. He was the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope and the first non-European pope in more than twelve centuries. He took the name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, the saint of the poor and of peace, and chose to live in the Casa Santa Marta rather than the Apostolic Palace. His pontificate placed mercy, the poor and migrants, care for creation, interreligious dialogue, reform of the Roman Curia and a missionary, synodal Church at its centre. He made 47 apostolic journeys outside Italy.
In February 2025 he spent 38 days in hospital with double pneumonia. Still convalescing, on Easter Sunday, 20 April, he greeted the faithful from the loggia of St Peter’s and rode through the square. He died the following morning, 21 April 2025, aged 88. After his funeral on 26 April he was buried, as he had asked, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, in a simple tomb bearing a single word: “Franciscus”. On 8 May 2025 the conclave elected Leo XIV as his successor.
Timeline
Born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents.
Enters the novitiate of the Society of Jesus.
Ordained a priest.
Elected provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina, a post he holds until 1979.
Ordained a bishop as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires.
Becomes Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Created a cardinal by John Paul II.
The Fifth General Conference of the Latin American bishops opens in Aparecida, Brazil; Bergoglio chairs the committee that drafts its final document.
Elected pope, taking the name Francis.
First trip outside Rome: Lampedusa, to pray for migrants who died at sea.
Publishes the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, the programme of his pontificate.
Signs the encyclical Laudato si’, on care for our common home.
Opens the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
Meets Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Havana, the first such meeting in history.
Signs the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb.
In the midst of the pandemic, prays alone in an empty St Peter’s Square and gives the Urbi et Orbi blessing.
Signs the encyclical Fratelli tutti in Assisi.
Becomes the first pope to visit Iraq and meets Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Opens the Synod on Synodality.
Opens the Holy Door of the Jubilee 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope”.
Admitted to the Gemelli hospital with double pneumonia; he stays 38 days.
Easter Sunday: gives the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St Peter’s, his last public appearance.
Dies aged 88 at the Casa Santa Marta on Easter Monday.
Funeral in St Peter’s Square; buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
Teachings
Some of the most important documents of his teaching.
Evangelii gaudium
The joy of the Gospel: the programme of a missionary Church that goes out to the peripheries.
Laudato si’
Care for our common home: an “integral ecology” that links the environmental and social crises.
Amoris laetitia
Love in the family, the fruit of two synods, with a call to accompaniment and discernment.
Gaudete et exsultate
The call to holiness in today’s world: “the saints next door”.
Fratelli tutti
Fraternity and social friendship as the path to a more just and peaceful world.
Laudate Deum
An urgent appeal on the climate crisis, eight years after Laudato si’.
Dilexit nos
His last encyclical, on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.
Quotes
Words of his that travelled around the world.
I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.
The Lord never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.
Be shepherds, with the “odour of the sheep”.
If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?
We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented.
A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Please, don’t forget to pray for me.
Legacy
Francis dreamed of “a Church which is poor and for the poor”, close to the wounded, which he compared to “a field hospital”. He canonized John XXIII, John Paul II, Paul VI, Óscar Romero and Teresa of Calcutta, named cardinals from the peripheries of the world and gave lay people and women greater responsibility in the governance of the Church.
His voice in defence of migrants, peace and creation reached far beyond the Church. His pontificate was not without debate and criticism, but through simple gestures and his insistence on mercy and tenderness he brought the faith closer to many who felt far from it.
This website is a tribute to his life and message.