He was the first pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit to head the Catholic Church. And never before had a church leader chosen this name: Francis, recalling Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology and of animals.
The choice was clearly meaningful. The son of a merchant, the original Francis renounced all riches, felt called by Jesus to a life of utter poverty and founded the Franciscan order. The pope's name did not evoke the pomp of papal palaces, nor the office of a head of church and state.
For the Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, whom the cardinals elected pope in 2013, the choice of name was a program: Like no pope before him, he stood up for refugees and the homeless and fought for the protection of environment and the climate.
Now, after more than 12 years as head of the Catholic Church and the 266th bishop of Rome, Francis has died at the age of 88, making him the second-oldest pope in history.
Pope from the 'ends of the Earth'
Before his papal election in March 2013, Bergoglio spoke in a pre-conclave, in which the cardinals exchanged views on the state of the church. In what was later described as a "firebrand" address, he called for "bold freedom of speech" in the church. The Catholic Church, he said, should not revolve around itself.
The power of this speech could still be felt in the 2018 film "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word," by German director Wim Wenders. In the film, Francis spoke in a relatable way about the church's closeness to people on the margins. From the outset, the pope, who referred to himself as being from the "ends of the Earth" during his first public appearance in 2013, reached out to the marginalized.
All of this was in keeping with his demeanor. Unlike his predecessors, Francis did not move into the so-called Apostolic Palace, which towers high above St. Peter's Square. Instead, he stayed in two rooms in the Vatican guest house throughout his pontificate, dining with employees and guests at a simple buffet.
He repeatedly criticized globalization and capitalism, delivering his strongest political speeches in his early years in office. In doing so, he always appeared as an advocate for the poor and the Global South.
He addressed the European Parliament in 2014 and criticized "throwaway culture and an uncontrolled consumerism." Speaking before the US Congress and the United Nations in New York in 2015, he highlighted immigration and the refugee crisis. The phenomenon of US President Donald Trump, and what he stands for, remained alien to him.
Francis often called on the international community to implement rapid reforms, and to do more in terms of development aid and climate protection. He dedicated his most important encyclical letter, "Laudato Si," or "Praised Be" to this topic in 2015. This teaching letter for the preservation of creation reads like a political indictment — but it has rarely been heard. Francis followed up in 2023 with another strong letter on the subject, entitled "Laudate Deum." The longer he was in office, the more impatient this pope sounded.
Visiting the margins of society
The most important of the pope's 47 trips abroad took him to Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Francis always sought out the poor, stopping in slums and inviting people to approach him. His trips within Europe were often on the outer margins of the wealthy continent, to Albania, for example, or Romania.
But China and Russia, which have not yet been visited by a pope, remained unknown lands for Francis. Even many months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he made efforts to engage in dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, the Kremlin's loyal priest, who Francis met in Cuba in 2016, to no avail.
Within the church, the Jesuit pope was inundated with expectations. Before him, the church leadership had increased centralization and steered a conservative course for decades. But many hopes for Francis were disappointed, though he did push for open debates: Before Francis, the Vatican synods, major debates lasting up to four weeks, were largely boring meetings where prepared manuscripts were read aloud.
Under Francis, people talked and debated again. But many observers saw a lack of concrete changes, even after the conclusion of the world synod, a major gathering of bishops which helps to shape the church's future, in October 2024. Francis wanted, as he once said, "restlessness" in the church, but extensive renovations of the architecture of doctrine were not his thing.
He did, however, oversee a major reform of the Curia, the Vatican's administrative body, which took effect in 2023 and reorganized the pope's government. Toward the end of his life, he placed two nuns at the head of Vatican ministries, known as dicasteries, offices normally reserved for cardinals.
During his entire term of office, Francis had to deal with cases of sexual abuse in many parts of the church, along with cronyism and intrigue in the Vatican. Francis, who sometimes announced "zero tolerance" for abuse and its cover-up, disappointed many people with some of his decisions. Though he removed dozens of bishops from office worldwide in his final years, Francis did not consistently take personnel decisions. And it seemed to be difficult for him to take action against alleged perpetrators in his immediate surroundings.
Reaching out to Jews, Muslims
What will remain as a legacy is Francis' attempts to build ties to Jews and Muslims, a new approach for a pope. Francis liked to introduce himself as "Brother Bishop," a term he also used when he met representatives of the other monotheistic religions.
He was also the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula, and did so several times. In Abu Dhabi in 2019, he signed a policy document with Muslim leaders and representatives of other churches that focused on "human fraternity, world peace and living together." And in 2021, he visited Shiites in Iraq to promote dialogue and religious brotherhood. The longer Francis was in office, the more intensive his contacts with Islam became.
But when he spoke out about the situation of Gaza's civilian population, it caused a deterioration in relations with some Jewish people. Francis quickly condemned the October 7, 2023 attacks by the militant Islamist group Hamas, and later repeatedly called for the release of Israeli hostages. But he was also shaken by the accounts of the small Christian community in Gaza City, and sharply condemned Israel's offensive.
The pope was increasingly plagued by health problems from 2021 onward, and he was hospitalized several times for operations. He first appeared at a public appointment in a wheelchair in 2022, and grew to rely on it toward the end of his life.
Increasingly, pope canceled appointments for health reasons, with staff reading out his prepared speeches in his place. And yet the Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism which he opened in December 2024, remained close to his heart.
Over the 12 years of Francis' papacy, the world seemed to become more divided and conflict-ridden — and the pope increasingly became a voice of warning. One of the lasting, and most powerful, images of his time as pope took place at Easter 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: Pope Francis alone, on a dark, rainy St. Peter's Square, almost imploring his God in the face of worldwide suffering.
