Pope Francis (1936- 2025)
Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 17th December 1936. He was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio and was the son of Italian immigrants.
At the age of 21, Bergoglio had part of his lung removed after a serious bout of pneumonia. He graduated as a chemical technician and worked briefly in the food-processing industry. The career was short-lived as Bergoglio felt God was calling him to be a priest.
His training began at the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto and after three years, on 11th March 1958, he joined the Jesuits. He then travelled to Santiago, Chile to study humanities before returning to Argentina to graduate with a degree in philosophy from Colegio de San José in San Miguel.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis made history in 2013 when he became the Catholic Church’s first pontiff from the Americas. During his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis championed historically progressive causes and became known for his advocacy of immigrants and the poor as well as his environmental activism. He was heavily invested in global peace, condemning all wars and bloodshed. Francis even changed the church’s stance on the death penalty, calling it “inadmissible.”
Pope Francis served as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church from March 2013 to April 2025. The first pope from the Americas, Francis took his papal title after Saint Francis of Assisi of Italy. Prior to his election as pope, he spent more than a decade as cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina and archbishop of Buenos Aires. Francis was also president of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina from 2005 to 2011. After months of declining health, Pope Francis died in April 2025 at age 88.
St. Mary’s Parish community is indebted to the Holy Father for his inspiring leadership, care and concern to the poor and the suffering, his simplicity and warmth that inspired the whole world.