Life & Legacy of Pope Francis
Key moments in Pope Francis’ life before his pontificate
Dec. 17, 1936: Born in Buenos Aires as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the oldest of five children
1958: Developed pneumonia and had to have one of his lungs partially removed
At some point prior to 1958, he earned a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires.
March 11, 1958: Entered the novitiate for the Society of Jesus
1960: Attended Colegio Máximo de San José, where he earned a licentiate in philosophy
March 12, 1960: Made his profession of the initial, perpetual Jesuit vows
1964-1965: Taught high school in Santa Fe, Argentina
1966: Taught at the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires
1967-1970: Attended Colegio San José where he earned a degree in theology
Dec. 13, 1969: Ordained to the priesthood for the Jesuits
April 22, 1973: Took his final vows as a Jesuit
1973: Named provincial superior for the Jesuits in Argentina
1980: Named rector of the Facultades de Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel
1986: Removed as rector of San Miguel because he was perceived as too conservative by other Jesuits
1992: Told by his fellow Jesuits to not live in Jesuit houses, thus causing his estrangement from his order until his election as pontiff
May 20, 1992: Named titular bishop of Auca, Spain
June 27, 1992: Consecrated as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires
June 3, 1997: Appointed coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires
Feb. 28, 1998: Appointed archbishop of Buenos Aires, in which post he served until 2013
Nov. 6, 1998: In addition to being archbishop of Buenos Aires, was named ordinary for Argentina's Eastern Catholic
Feb. 21, 2001: Created cardinal, with his titular church being San Roberto Bellarmino
April 2005: Was a frontrunner in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI
Nov. 8, 2005: Elected president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference
Nov. 11, 2008: Reelected conference president
2010: To help promote his favorite devotion, Our Lady Undoer of Knots, elevated the parish of San José del Talar in Buenos Aires to the dignity of a shrine, which is now also c
Key moments from the papacy of Pope Francis
March 13, 2013: Elected the Roman Catholic Church's 266th pope
March 19, 2013: Inaugurated as Pope Francis
June 29, 2013: Released his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei
July 8, 2013: Visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, landing point for many African migrants after their journey across the Mediterranean Sea
July 23-28, 2013: Visited Brazil for World Youth Day
July 29, 2013: On the return flight to Italy, gave his infamous, “Who am I to judge?” comment
Nov. 24, 2013: Issued his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which denounced economic inequality
Feb. 22, 2014: Held his first consistory, appointing 19 new cardinals, including one from Haiti, which had never had a cardinal
March 22, 2014: Created the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors
Oct. 5, 2014: Started the controversial Synod on the Family
Jan. 18, 2015: Celebrated Mass in the Philippines for 6-7 million people in a torrential downpour
March 13, 2015: Announced the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which lasted from Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016
March 23, 2015: Visited Naples to show the Church’s opposition to organized crime
May 24, 2015: Released his second encyclical, Laudato Si’
Sept. 19-27, 2015: Visited Cuba and the United States and on Sept. 24, 2015 became the first pontiff to address the U.S. Congress. He also participated in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia
Oct. 4, 2015: Started the second Synod on the Family, which lacked the presence of the traditional, orthodox prelates who had helped derail his agenda during the first session
Oct. 18, 2015: Canonized Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, making the Martins the first married couple to undergo canonization together
Feb. 12-17, 2016: Visited Mexico for an apostolic journey
March 19, 2016: Published the hugely controversial apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
July 26-31, 2016: Participated in the Kraków World Youth Day
Sept. 4, 2016: Canonized Mother Teresa of Kolkata, nearly 19 years to the day of her death
May 12-13, 2017: For the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to the three children, Francis traveled to Fatima, Portugal
July 11, 2017: Added “offering of life” to the categories that make someone worthy of beatification
Nov. 19, 2017: Inaugurated the first World Day of the Poor
April 21, 2018: Appointed three women to the Dicastery of the Doctrine of Faith, the first time females had served in this august body
Aug. 2, 2018: Announced revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to say that the death penalty is morally inadmissible
Aug. 25, 2018: In a letter, Archbishop Carlo Viganò accused Francis of knowing about Theodore Cardinal McCarrick's sexual abuse of minors and seminarians. Nine months later, His Holiness denied any knowledge of the laicized prelate's sexual crimes
Aug. 25-26, 2018: Attended the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, Ireland
Oct. 3-28, 2018: Hosted the Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment
Feb. 21-24, 2019: Convened a global conference of various ecclesiastics and religious to discuss child abuse and protection
Oct. 6-27, 2019: Hosted the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which featured calls for a special Amazonian rite of the Mass and the display of a statue of Pachamama, a pagan deity in the Basilica of St. Peter
Oct. 13, 2019: Canonized John Henry Cardinal Newman
March 15, 2020: Took a walking pilgrimage through Rome to pray for the end of the COVID pandemic
March 27, 2020: Amid the COVID pandemic, Francis prayed in St. Peter’s Square alone and imparted an Urbi et Orbi blessing to viewers over live-stream
Oct. 3, 2020: Released his third encyclical Fratelli Tutti
March 5-8, 2021: Visited Iraq to honor those who were attempting to rebuild the country after the destruction wrought by ISIS, becoming the first pontiff to visit this country
July 3, 2021: Approved the indictment on corruption charges of Giovanni Angelo Cardinal Becciu, whom Francis had raised to the College of Cardinals
July 16, 2021: Released the hugely contentious motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which severely restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass, just 14 years after his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI had liberalized the TLM with his own motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum
Oct. 9-10, 2021: Opened the first of three sessions of the Synod on Synodality
Dec. 2-6, 2021: Visited for a second time the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants fleeing war-torn Syria
March 19, 2022: Released the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman curia and gives laypeople more opportunities for leadership
May 5, 2022: Due to knee problems, Francis started using a wheelchair in public appearances
Oct. 24-30, 2022: Made his first trip to Canada and apologized to the indigenous for any mistreatment they suffered at the hands of the Church
Jan. 5, 2023: Presided over the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
March 13, 2023: Celebrated his tenth anniversary as Supreme Pontiff
Dec. 18, 2023: Approved some blessings for same-sex couples, which caused the Coptic Orthodox Church to break off ecumenical dialogue
Feb. 11, 2024: Canonized the first female saint of Argentina, María Antonia de San José
June 14, 2024: Spoke about AI to the G7 meeting
Sept. 2-13, 2024: Visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore
Sept. 26-29, 2024: Visited Luxembourg and Belgium and proposed starting the beatification process for the late King Baudouin for his pro-life stances
Oct. 24, 2024: Released his fourth encyclical Dilexit Nos on the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Oct. 26, 2024: Closed the three year Synod on Synodality
Dec. 24, 2024: Began the 2025 Jubilee Year by opening the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Peter
Feb. 14, 2024: Admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital to receive treatment for a respiratory tract infection, bronchitis and pneumonia
List of Encyclicals
Dilexit nos (24 October 2024)
Fratelli tutti (3 October 2020)
Laudato si' (24 May 2015)
Lumen fidei (29 June 2013)
Books written by Pope Francis
Books about Pope Francis
Pope Francis: Our Brother and Friend, by Alejandro Bermudez
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis, Pope of the New World, by Andrea Tornielli
Fioretti—The Little Flowers of Pope Francis, by Andrea Tornielli