Pope Francis, Catholic Church’s revolutionary pontiff, passes away at 88

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, passed away on Monday. He was 88 and had recently recovered from a serious bout of double pneumonia.

Francis made history as the first pope from the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order), the Americas, and the Southern Hemisphere. He was also the first non-European pope since the 8th century, following Gregory III of Syria.

A humble beginning
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Mario Giuseppe Bergoglio Vassallo, a railway accountant, and Regina María Sívori Gogna. He was one of five children. Mario had migrated from Italy in 1920, while Regina, though born in Argentina, also came from an Italian immigrant family.

Raised in a working-class household, Bergoglio grew up speaking both Spanish and Italian. His upbringing was rooted in discipline and simplicity. The children washed dishes every evening after dinner, and food wastage was discouraged.

As a young man, he worked briefly as a nightclub bouncer and later earned a diploma to become a chemical technician. Argentina’s turbulent political landscape shaped his early worldview, and he was drawn to Peronism—a populist movement focused on social justice and uplifting the working class. These ideas would remain central to his later mission.

According to his sister María, Jorge was a voracious learner, known for his humour and an ever-present smile. After high school, he studied chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires before he felt a deeper spiritual pull.

Answering the call
Bergoglio ended a romantic relationship and entered the Jesuit novitiate on March 11, 1958. He studied humanities in Chile and returned to Argentina in 1963. He later earned a degree in philosophy from the Colegio de San José in San Miguel. Between 1964 and 1970, he taught literature, psychology, and theology—experiences that honed both his intellect and his empathy.

His path to priesthood was reflective and deliberate. He entered the seminary at Villa Devoto at 21 and was ordained a priest at the age of 33, on December 13, 1969. Soon after, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

From 1973 to 1979, Bergoglio served as Provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina. In 1980, he was appointed rector of the San Miguel Seminary. His leadership during a politically volatile era was marked by quiet resilience and strong moral clarity.

In 1998, he was named Archbishop of Buenos Aires and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. As cardinal, Bergoglio chose modesty over status—living in a small apartment, taking public transport, and frequently visiting the poor and sick.

When news spread of his elevation to cardinal, many Argentines prepared to travel to Rome for the occasion. Bergoglio, in a gesture that captured his pastoral heart, urged them instead to donate the money to those in need.

He was elected President of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina in 2005, a post he held for six years. That same year, he participated in the papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II. Though he emerged as one of the top contenders, he reportedly asked the cardinals not to vote for him and withdrew.

A papacy of mercy and reform
On March 13, 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected as the 266th pope of the Catholic Church. He took the name Francis, in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi—a symbol of peace, humility, and care for the poor.

From the start, Pope Francis broke with tradition. He refused to move into the papal palace, choosing instead to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse. His papacy was defined by humility, simplicity, and a call to bring the Church closer to the people—especially the poor, the marginalised, and the forgotten.

Francis championed mercy over judgement, dialogue over doctrine. He expanded roles for women in the Church, admitting them as full members of Vatican dicasteries. He extended pastoral care to LGBT individuals, advocating for blessings for individuals, even while holding traditional views on marriage.

He was a vocal critic of unrestrained capitalism, consumerism, and environmental destruction—issues he addressed forcefully in his encyclical Laudato Si’. He called the death penalty "intrinsically wrong" and pushed for its abolition worldwide.

On the global stage, Francis played a quiet but crucial role in thawing US-Cuba relations, reached an agreement with China on appointing bishops, and consistently supported refugees and migrants. He also spoke out against right-wing populism and advocated for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

In 2022, he issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the cultural genocide of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

His final major initiative—the Synod on Synodality—was a sweeping, multi-year effort to reform Church governance by listening to the voices of ordinary believers. For many, it marked the most transformative moment in Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council.

Legacy
Pope Francis led with presence, not power. He reshaped the papacy with compassion, courage, and a willingness to confront difficult truths—within the Church and beyond.

He will be remembered not just as a religious leader, but as a global moral voice for the poor, the vulnerable, and the planet.