Bible & Christianity › Christianity today › Second Vatican Council
Pope Francis
pope March 13, 2013 – April 21, 2025; first Jesuit and first Latin American pope· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, pope from 2013 to 2025: the first Jesuit pope, first from Latin America and first named Francis.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Born in Buenos Aires in 1936 to an Italian immigrant family, Bergoglio was a Jesuit and archbishop of Buenos Aires before his election on March 13, 2013. He lived in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal apartments, stressed mercy and the poor, and wrote Laudato si' (2015) on the environment. In 2014 he visited South Korea and beatified 124 Korean martyrs in Seoul. He named most of the cardinals who chose his successor. He died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025.
Why it matters
He shifted the papacy's tone toward mercy, the poor and the Global South, and opened debates on divorced Catholics, gay people and church governance that remain unsettled.
Life, legacy and sources
His encyclicals and speeches on the Vatican website, recorded interviews and papal trips, synod documents (2021–24), and his own account in the memoir Hope (2025).
Questions and debates
Supporters saw overdue reform; critics saw doctrinal confusion. Debate continues over his record on abuse, the 2018 Vatican–China deal on bishops, and his limits on the old Latin Mass.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Pope Francis took his name from Francis of Assisi and the FranciscansHistorical record
The connection
As Bergoglio's election became certain, Brazilian cardinal Cláudio Hummes hugged him and said, 'Don't forget the poor.' He chose Francis, after Assisi's 'man of poverty, man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.' His encyclical Laudato si' (2015) takes its title from Francis's 'Canticle of the Creatures.'
When and where
Sistine Chapel, March 13, 2013; explained to journalists in Rome on March 16, 2013; Fratelli tutti signed at Francis's tomb in Assisi, October 2020.
Historical evidence
His own explanation, recorded on video at the March 16, 2013 audience, and the texts of his encyclicals, which quote Francis of Assisi.
Questions and debates
Some first wondered whether he meant Francis Xavier, a Jesuit founder; he clarified Assisi. Whether his papacy lived up to that ideal of poverty is debated.
▸Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of CharityHistorical record
The connection
Francis canonized Mother Teresa as St. Teresa of Calcutta, 19 years after her death, during his Jubilee Year of Mercy, presenting her as a model of mercy toward the poor, the core message of his papacy. John Paul II had beatified her in 2003 after a fast-tracked process.
When and where
St. Peter's Square, Rome, September 4, 2016, before a crowd of about 120,000.
Historical evidence
The Vatican canonization decree and homily; the Church accepted the 2008 healing of a Brazilian man with brain abscesses as the required second miracle.
Questions and debates
Doctors disputed the first miracle, the 1998 healing of Monica Besra in India, saying medicine cured her; critics also questioned the speed of the process.
▸Pope Francis was succeeded by Pope Leo XIVHistorical record
The connection
Francis promoted Prevost rapidly: bishop of Chiclayo, Peru (2015), head of the Vatican office that selects bishops (2023) and cardinal (2023). After Francis died on April 21, 2025, a conclave in which about four in five electors were Francis appointees chose Prevost on May 8. Leo has kept many of Francis's priorities, especially the poor.
When and where
Sistine Chapel, Vatican, May 7–8, 2025; a record 133 cardinal electors; elected on the fourth ballot.
Historical evidence
Vatican records of Prevost's appointments and the conclave result; Leo's first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te (October 2025), on love for the poor, was begun by Francis.
Questions and debates
How closely Leo will follow Francis on contested issues, such as blessings for same-sex couples, the Latin Mass and church governance, is still unfolding.
▸Pope Francis held a 2019 Vatican summit on Clergy sexual abuse crisisHistorical record
The connection
After first defending a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse, Francis apologized in 2018. In February 2019 he summoned bishops' leaders worldwide to a Vatican summit on protecting minors, then required clergy to report abuse and cover-ups (Vos estis lux mundi, May 2019) and lifted papal secrecy on abuse cases. He also defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
When and where
Vatican, February 21–24, 2019, with about 190 church leaders; follow-up laws in May and December 2019.
Historical evidence
Vatican documents, summit transcripts and the new laws, all published.
Questions and debates
Survivors' groups called the reforms overdue and weakly enforced; whether bishops are truly held accountable remains disputed.