Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on April 21st, 2025, at 88. According to the Vatican, he suffered a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible heart failure. Regarded as one of the most compassionate and progressive popes, he held the papacy for 12 years after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. The Holy Father left a massive legacy behind and introduced progressivism to the Catholic Church, so let’s recount Pope Francis’ life in memory of him.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis’ baptismal name, was born in Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17th, 1936. From a young age, Jorge Mario Bergoglio didn’t always plan on dedicating his life to God; he graduated from Escuela Técnica Industrial Nº 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, a secondary school, with a degree as a Chemical Technician. After graduating from Secondary School, he dedicated his life to the path of priesthood, joining the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto. Two years later, he joined the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. After finishing his mortal studies, he returned to Argentina in 1963 and graduated with a degree in philosophy from the Colegio de San José in San Miguel. He then returned to school and got a degree in theology from 1967-70.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano; he then continued to train between 1970 and 1971 at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and on April 22nd, 1973, made his final profession with the Jesuits. He then spent years teaching and being a priest in different colleges and churches. On May 20th, 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires. On June 3rd, 1997, he ascended to the dignity of Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Nine months after ascending, he was made archbishop after the death of Cardinal Quarracino.
On February 21st, 2001, Pope John Paul II promoted Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Cardinal; once he ascended to Cardinal, he told people not to travel to Rome to celebrate but to donate that money to the poor instead. In April 2005, he participated in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. Little did he know that the next conclave would elect him as Pope. After Pope Benedict XVI resigned due to his advanced age and deteriorating strength, the conclave for the next Pope began. A bit after 24 hours after the conclave began, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the next Pope. He selected Francis of Assisi as his papal name, thus becoming Pope Francis.
As Pope Francis ascended to the papacy, so did his progressive regime. Popes are known for being conservative theologically, but Pope Francis brought a progressive ideology with him. One of Pope Francis’ most controversial was his ruling on Homosexual couples to be blessed. Many Catholics and Christians worldwide thought that this meant that he said that being a homosexual wasn’t a sin. Pope Francis did not say this in the slightest; he said that couples who are homosexual can be blessed just like how any other person who sins can be blessed, as not one sin is above the other.
Pope Francis also advocated for the protection of the environment. He called for government officials to make radical changes to prevent the disastrous effects of Climate Change. In 2015, he published the encyclical Laudato Si’, which focused on the environment and addressed a call for a social and environmental crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact on the poor. Almost everything that Pope Francis did was to help benefit the poor; some including hosting lunches for the poor, establishing the World Day of the Poor, advocating for debt relief and social justice, personally reaching out to the poor, washing the feet of migrants and prisoners, and brought refugees to Italy.
Pope Francis had to face two of the most difficult challenges that no other pop had ever faced: Addressing the sexual abuse crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Pope Francis had to step in and address the sexual assault of minors by Catholic clergy, and he did a great job. Pope Francis established a commission for the protection of minors and issued new norms for handling abuse allegations. He endured a problem that no Pope had dared to touch, so even if people disagreed with his methods, they should appreciate him tackling the challenge.
COVID-19 caused the world to stop for 4 years from 2019-2023, as the world faced the Covid pandemic. Pope Francis had to face the concern and worry worldwide, and when people needed him the most for some faith in such dark times, he stepped up. He launched a powerful appeal to get vaccinated to stop the spread of the Virus. On March 27th, while pouring rain in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Francis led the world in prayer for an end to the Coronavirus. He gave everyone hope and faith to get through dark times.
Pope Francis’ health started deteriorating and hospitalized on February 14th, 2025. He was in the hospital for about a month and released on March 23rd, 2025. It seemed like Pope Francis was gonna survive his illness. Sadly, he passed away on April 21st, 2025. Even as Pope Francis reached his final days, the Heavenly Father kept calling for mercy and justice for everyone. He called the Catholic Parish in Gaza almost every night. The Holy Father also called out the United States of America for their awful and inhuman treatment of Illegal immigrants. Pope Francis is known as one of the most compassionate popes; he cared for everybody and didn’t care what people thought.
Pope Francis passed away peacefully and will be able to meet God in Heaven after years of dedicating his life to him. Pope Francis left behind a powerful legacy and started a progressive push in the church, which people must agree on. Whether you like it or not, attracted an abundance of converts to join the Catholic church. May God rest his soul.
