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Pope Francis, who became the first South American and first Jesuit to ascend to the most powerful position in the Catholic Church, has died at age 88.
The Vatican confirmed the beloved pontiff’s passing on Monday after a prolonged battle with double pneumonia.
Pope Francis spent 37 days in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital with a bilateral lung infection which took hold of the pontiff on Feb. 14, with the 88-year-old requiring high flows of supplemental oxygen throughout the prolonged stay and at least once requiring an emergency blood transfusions, the Vatican said.
His health was touch-and-go during the lengthy stay, with doctors reportedly having considered ending the treatment of double pneumonia so that the pontiff could die in peace.
On Mar. 23, Francis made his first public appearance before departing Gemelli hospital, managing to give a wheelchair-bound thumbs-up from a balcony before returning to the Vatican residence where he began a two month convalesce to recover from the health scare.
The 88-year-old Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, was the eldest of five children.
His parents were Mario Bergoglio, an Italian accountant who fled Piedmont Italy to escape the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, according to his Vatican biography.
His mother, Regina Maria Sivori, came from a Catholic family in Buenos Aires, though they too migrated from Italy.
The young Bergoglio held a variety of jobs in his youth, including stints as a janitor, a bouncer and a chemist before he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969.
He was Jesuit provincial superior in his home country from 1973-1979, where he also completed his rigorous studies and Jesuitical spiritual training.
Bergoglio became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. As a cardinal he held several high profile administrative positions in the Roman Curia.
Famously, during the 2001 Ordinary General Assembly, he replaced the iconic Cardinal Edward Michael Egan as Realtor Adjunct, as the beloved Egan remained in New York in the wave of the September 11th terror attacks. As a replacement, Bergoglio is said to have made a favorable impression upon the college of cardinals,
In 2005, at the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio received the second most votes in every round of voting and nearly ascended to the lofty height as a 68-year-old.
When Benedict XVI would shockingly resign from the papacy in 2013 — an action not undertaken willingly since Pope Gregory XII ended the Western Schism — Bergoglio was a favorite amongst insiders to put a new face on an scandal-plagued institution.
He was elected as the next heir to St. Peter by a papal conclave on Feb. 28, 2013 — a first for a Jesuit — choosing Francis as his papal name to honor of one of the beloved St. Francis of Assisi.
Much like his namesake, Francis’ papacy was marked by expressions of humility and compassion, particularly for the poor.
The Jesuit rankled some critics, both inside and outside the Vatican walls, with progressive attitudes and advisements, including naming several women to hold major posts in the Vatican and urging the Church to be understanding of both gay and divorced Catholics who desire to received the Eucharist — though he stopped short of voicing approval for gay marriage.
During his tenure as pontiff, Francis expressed support for abolishing the death penalty, and at times spoke out against capitalism, even criticizing “trickle-down” economics.
“There was the promise that once the glass had become full it would overflow and the poor would benefit. But what happens is that when it’s full to the brim, the glass magically grows, and thus nothing ever comes out for the poor,” he told Italian newspaper La Stampa in 2013.
Francis also used his grand pulpit to dabble in global diplomatic affairs, including helping restore diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba, and brokering a deal with China over the Communist Party’s sway over appointing Chinese bishops.
Pope Francis was a vociferous advocate for the rights of migrants and refugees and implored countries in the West consider the plight of the least among us. This advocacy included recently speaking out against President Trump’s promise to enforce American immigration policy — calling mass deportations a ‘disgrace.’
“I, myself, was born in a family of migrants,” Pope Francis said in a Ted Talk in 2021. “My father, my grandparents, like many other Italians, left for Argentina and met the fate of those who are left with nothing.”
“I could very well ended up among today’s ‘discarded’ people. And that’s why I always ask myself, deep in my heart: ‘Why them and not me?'”
In 2024, Francis became the first pope to speak at the G7 summit, which was held in Puglia, Italy. He addressed the world’s major superpowers on the risks of AI, urging leaders to use it in a way that benefits humanity.
Francis, elected at age 76, faced several high-profile health scares over the course of his papacy, which at times prompted rumors he may resign — which he denied but left the door open to doing so should his health decline irrevocably.
At the age of 21, Francis had part of his lung removed after a bout with life-threatening pneumonia, which his doctors said would not significantly impact his health — unless he was stricken with a major respiratory infection.
In March 2023, Francis was hospitalized in Rome with bronchitis but returned in time for the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday, which was on April 9th.
That June, the pope underwent a hernia operation, spending several days at Rome’s Gamelli Hospital, where he also spent his final days.
He skipped a pair of planned visits to Africa in 2022 after getting knee surgery, and has used a wheelchair at public appearances ever since, a move disabled Catholics praised for making his disability “part of his visible identity.”
Leading up to his death, Francis was hospitalized for several days for a “complex” lung infection, which he battled for more than a week and later became full-fledged double pneumonia.
Pope Francis leaves a lasting legacy as an advocate for the poor and needy who carried on the papal legacy of participating in politics — though using his power to advocate for the powerless, inspiring a generation of Catholics
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