Who he was
The son of Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, he trained as a chemical technician before joining the Jesuits in 1958, and was ordained in 1969. He led the Argentine Jesuits, then became auxiliary bishop and in 1998 Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and was made a cardinal in 2001. Elected in 2013, he was the first pope from the Americas and took his name from St Francis of Assisi.
What he is remembered for
He wrote the exhortation Evangelii gaudium and the encyclicals Lumen fidei, Laudato si' on care for creation, Fratelli tutti and Dilexit nos on the Sacred Heart, and held the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy and called the Jubilee of Hope for 2025. He made 47 journeys abroad, reformed the Roman Curia, and is remembered for his closeness to the poor and the sick and for praying alone in a rain-soaked St Peter's Square during the Covid-19 pandemic. He gave the Easter blessing on 20 April 2025 and died the next morning.
Sources
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