Pope Francis biography

Synopsis

Early Life and Education

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, to Italian immigrants. As a teenager, Bergoglio underwent surgery to remove a lung due to serious infection. Following his high school graduation, he enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires, where he received a master's degree in chemistry before beginning training at the Jesuit seminary of Villa Devoto. In March 1958, he entered the Society of Jesus.

Bergoglio went on to attend the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, where he earned a degree in philosophy, and later received a doctorate in theology in Freiburg, Germany.

Entering Priesthood

Ordained as a priest in December 1969, Bergoglio began serving as Jesuit provincial of Argentina in 1973. He later returned to his alma mater, the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, where he served as rector (1980-86) as well as a professor of theology.

In June 1992, Bergoglio was named titular bishop of Auca and auxiliary of Buenos Aires, and in February 1998, he became archbishop of Buenos Aires, succeeding Antonio Quarracino. Three years later, in February 2001, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope John Paul II, named the cardinal-priest of Saint Robert Bellarmine. In 2005, he was named president of the Bishops' Conference of Argentina, serving in that position until 2011.

After Pope John Paul II's death in April 2005, Bergoglio reportedly received the second-most votes in the 2005 papal election; Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) won election as Pope John Paul's successor.

Early into his priesthood, Bergoglio earned a reputation as a doctrinal conservative. He strongly opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in Argentina, calling it "a destructive attack on God's plan" (a same-sex marriage bill was approved by Argentinian lawmakers in July 2010, making Argentina the first country in Latin America to legalize such legislation). He also publicly disputed efforts to promote free contraception and artificial insemination led by Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez.

Becoming Pope

On March 13, 2013, at the age of 76, Jorge Bergoglio was named the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church—becoming the first citizen from the Americas, the first non-European and first Jesuit priest to be named pope, and adopting the name Pope Francis (he reportedly took the title after St. Francis of Assisi of Italy, a Catholic preacher during the 12th and 13th centuries). Prior to the 2013 papal election, Pope Francis had served as both archbishop and cardinal for more than 12 years.