Pope Francis was the the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, he became Pope in 2013. He took Francis as his papal name in honour of St Francis of Assisi, a saint who renounced his wealth and lived among the poor. From his election onwards, he turned down many privileges traditionally accorded to the Pope. His early actions in the office included washing the feet of the elderly and prisoners and advocating for the rights of refugees and migrants.
Francis’s papacy heralded several reforms to the Catholic Church, but on many of its teachings, he was a traditionalist. He was at times supportive of some kind of same-sex unions for gay couples, but did not favour calling it marriage. He also took part in an anti-abortion march in Rome – calling for rights of the unborn “from the moment of conception”.
He died on Easter Monday, less than 24 hours after his last public appearance, in front of a crowd of worshippers at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Read more
