Pope Francis I Biography

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis I on March 13, 2013. He succeeded Pope Benedict XVI, who had stepped down a month earlier.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born and raised in Buenos Aires, the son of an Italian immigrant. In the late 1950s Bergoglio joined the Society of Jesus, and in 1969 was ordained as a Jesuit. According to a 2013 profile in The Catholic Herald, “He studied and received a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires, but later decided to become a Jesuit priest and studied at the Jesuit seminary of Villa Devoto.” He also had a degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Buenos Aires, which he earned in 1960.

During the 1970s and ’80s, Bergoglio taught philosophy and theology in San Miguel, earning a reputation as a moderate scholar with a particular interest in fighting for the poor.

Bergoglio was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992, and six years later was elevated to Archbishop; Pope John Paul II made Bergoglio a cardinal in 2001. According to many sources, in the 2005 conclave that chose Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio had been the runner-up. Instead of becoming pope, he became the president of the Buenos Aires Bishop’s Conference, a post he held until 2011.

He was a surprise choice to become the Holy Father after the also-surprising retirement of Benedict XVI in 2013. He became the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit to become pope, and the first to take the name Francis. As pope he was known for his compassion and (for a pope) liberal policies; when asked about gay Catholics, he famously said, “If they accept the Lord and have good will, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized.” (Though he did not alter church policy to condone homosexuality.)

Pope Francis I was missing a lung; he had one removed when he was in his 20s as the result of an illness. In his later years as pope, his health failed, often due to respiratory problems. In early 2025 he was hospitalized with respiratory problems, but rallied and returned to work before his sudden death on April 21, the day after he had given Easter greetings to gathered crowds in St. Peter’s Square.