From his early years in Argentina to his rise in the clergy ranks, see Pope Francis’ journey to Vatican City

Before he was elected Pope Francis in 2013, he was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires. In his youth, he worked as a janitor, a bouncer and eventually trained to work in a food science lab. But surviving bouts of illness, the young Argentinean felt called to join the Society of Jesuits – a path neither he nor his family expected him to take.

During his priesthood, Bergoglio worked in some of the most crime-ridden areas of Buenos Aires, aiding in the effort to clean up neighborhoods and end human trafficking. In 2015, Lucas Schaerer told PEOPLE about working with the religious leader on the streets of Argentina. “I remember he told me: ‘The Church should be like a battlefield hospital – ready to take in those that have been injured by life’s tragedies and sins,” Schaerer recalled.

As the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis took unusually strong stances on political and social matters. He showed an unprecedented amount of papal support for same-sex marriage, was deeply invested in protecting the environment and advocated for widespread vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope Francis had experienced declining health in the last few years of his papacy, including a long hospitalization for double pneumonia several months before his death on April 21, 2025, Easter Monday.

From his earliest years to his final days in the Vatican, see the remarkable life and journey of Pope Francis.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Early Years

Jorge Mario Bergoglio.Jesuit General Curia via Getty

Born in December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina Bergoglio was the son of Italian immigrants who moved to Argentina. He studied to become a chemical technician while in high school and briefly worked in the food processing industry in his youth. Following a serious bout of pneumonia (as well as the loss of part of his lungs, preceding years of respiratory issues) the future pope joined the Jesuits in 1958, thus starting his path as a religious leader.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Seminarian Years

Jorge Mario Bergoglio.Jesuit General Curia via Getty

While studying to be a priest, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, pictured in 1966, taught literature and psychology at Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires.

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Jose Mario Bergoglio’s Family

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Bergoglio was one of four children. In the undated shot above, Bergoglio (top row, second from left) poses with his family, shortly after being ordained as a Catholic priest in 1969.

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Rising in the Church Ranks

Jorge Mario Bergoglio.API/GAMMA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

After being ordained as a priest, he served as the Jesuit provincial superior from 1973 to 1979. Above, he is pictured leading communion circa 1976.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio Becomes Archbishop of Buenos Aires

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In the ’80s, Bergoglio worked as a seminary teacher and served as Rector of the Colegio de San José before heading to Germany to finish his doctoral thesis in 1986. He went back to his hometown at the behest of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and was appointed the titular bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires in 1992.

He would ascend once again in 1997 to the title of coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires before being finally being appointed as archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998.

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A Fearless Ally

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His friends remembered him as a fearless “street priest,” and unwavering advocate for the disadvantaged. “He would personally help, console and bless the people we rescued together — drug addicts, prostitutes and human slaves kept [in clothing factories],” Lucas Schaerer told PEOPLE in 2015.

Schaerer and his colleague Gustavo Vera, who worked with the non-governmental organization La Alameda on problems of human trafficking, drug-smuggling and corruption, first met Francis in 2008 when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio Becomes a Cardinal

Pope John Paul II, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.Franco Origlia/Getty

In 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergoglio a cardinal. Above, the latter is pictured kissing the hand of the pope during a consistory in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 21, 2001, in Vatican City.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio is Elected Pope

Pope Francis.Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the papacy and became Pope Francis. His new title made him the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas and the first pope to be from outside of Europe since Syrian Pope Gregory III in the 8th century.

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Pope Francis Is Named Person of the Year

Pope Francis.Dan Kitwood/Getty

The same year, Time magazine named the Argentina native their Person of the Year, noting that, “the septuagenarian superstar is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century. … He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing.”

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Pope Francis Visits the White House

Pope Francis, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama.Grzegorz Galazka\Mondadori via Getty

In 2015, Pope Francis visited the White House and was pictured waving to onlookers alongside the Obamas. He also went to the World Trade Center Memorial during this trip, where he prayed over the site while standing by one of the memorial’s reflecting pools.

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Pope Francis’ Progressive Stances

Pope Francis. Vatican Pool/Getty

Renowned for his progressive leanings, Pope Francis did several surprising things during his tenure as pope: He joined Instagram in March 2016, granted formal permission for women to become lectors, read Scripture, and assist in administering communion in the church in 2021 and spoke out against anti-gay laws around the world in 2023.

He was also a staunch advocate against climate change and was pro-vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, he also appointed Archbishop Wilton Gregory a cardinal, making him the first African American cardinal of the United States.

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Pope Francis Presides Over the Funeral of Pope Benedict XVI

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In January 2023, Pope Francis presided over the funeral proceedings of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Dec. 31, 2022.

“Like the women at the tomb, we too have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope, in order to show him once more the love that is undying,” he said, comforting the crowd of mourners.

“We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years. Together, we want to say: ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit.’ “

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Pope Francis Gets Sick

Pope Francis. Antonio Masiello/Getty

On Feb. 14, 2025, the Vatican confirmed in a news release that the pope had been hospitalized at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome due to bronchitis.

“This morning, after his audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for necessary diagnostic tests and to continue hospital treatment for his ongoing bronchitis,” the statement read. The office also revealed that he had been “suffering from bronchitis for several days,” something he had noted during some of his public audiences.

Prior to the hospitalization, he sparked concerns about his health when he appeared at St. Peter’s Basilica for a ceremony to install 21 new cardinals, with a large bruise on his chin in Dec. 2024. The Vatican press office explained the injury was minor, and that he had hit his chin on his bedside table.

He sustained another injury in Jan. 2025. “This morning [Thursday, Jan. 16], due to a fall at Santa Marta, Pope Francis sustained a bruise on his right forearm, with no fractures,” announced the Holy See Press Office, as reported by Vatican News, the Associated Press and ABC News.

The press office also said that Francis’ “arm has been immobilized as a precaution.”

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Pope Francis Dies

Pope Francis.Dan Kitwood/Getty

The Pope was discharged from the hospital on March 23, but remained in poor health, though he returned to work. On the day before he died, he met with the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and delivered his annual public address for Easter. He died at 7:35 a.m. on Monday, April 21, at age 88.

The Vatican remembered the late pope in a statement, saying in a statement from Cardinal Ferrell said, “He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”