Pope Francis Timeline, Humble Beginnings to World Leader

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born to Italian immigrant parents in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, in 1936, the oldest of five children. He attended a Catholic grade school, then graduated from a trade high school with a chemical technician diploma, going on to work in a food laboratory.

By the time he was 21 years old, he had endured pneumonia so severe it threatened his life, and suffered cysts on a lung … prompting surgery to remove part of one of his lungs. That would affect the rest of his life, even to his final days.

At 22, he was inspired to study at an Argentine seminary, and three years later traveled to Chile to study further. At 24, he formally took steps to become a Jesuit back in Argentina, and he was ordained as a priest in 1969, at 33, and in 1973, he took his final vows as a Jesuit.

He reached the rank of Roman Catholic cardinal in 2001, appointed by Pope John Paul II, and became increasingly involved in political offices of the church, while maintaining a reputation for social justice issues and a simple lifestyle.

When John Paul II died in 2005, Bergoglio was among the cardinals in contention to be selected as the new pope, but the conclave elected Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict resigned from the Papacy due to health issues in February 2013. He was the first Pope to voluntarily step down since 1415.

In March 2013, and Bergoglio was elected Pope on the second day of the conclave, and took the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi … primarily because of the saint’s work with the poor. He was the first Pope to take the name Francis.

Bergoglio was also the first Pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit. He chose not to live in the Papal residence in the Vatican, opting for a guest house instead.

He spoke Spanish, Italian, German, English, French, Portuguese, and of course, Latin.

Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, in his Vatican residence. He had bronchitis for weeks, leading to pneumonia in both lungs. He suffered a stroke, which led to a coma and cardiac arrest. He was 88.