Who Was Pope Francis to the World?

Jorge Mario Bergolgio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was the son of two Italian immigrants. On 13 December 1969, he was ordained as a priest, and made his final profession with the Jesuits, a religious order of clerics focused on finding the christian god in all things, as well as caring and dedicating one’s life to serving communities, and promoting justice. Jorge was elected as pope, the supreme ruler of the Vatican in 2013. He chose the name Francis from St. Francis of Assisi, a friar who sought to become “a man of piece, a man of poverty, a man who loved and protected creation”, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Photograph: Alesandra Tarantino/ Associated Press

As he stood over the balcony of St. Peter’s square, he simply said to the crowd, “Buona Sera”, thus beginning his journey as the leader of over 1 billion faithful to the Catholic church. Pope Francis opted for an iron cross, removing much of the “glamorous” clothing. He chose to reside in the Vatican’s guest house, instead of the Apostolic Palace. 

To both faithful and non-believing, Pope Francis represented a renewed Catholic Church, one that was more liberal, forgiving, and in servitude to its followers. In 2013, he told reporters, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him…who am I to judge?” in December of 2023, Pope Francis approved allowing priests to bless same sex couples, and the Vatican allowed gay italian men to become priests, as long as they remained celibate. To the LGBTQ community, Pope Francis was a seismic shift in a battle that seemed unwinnable, because who could believe that the catholics of all people would accept other forms of sexuality? 

Across two trips, Pope Francis flew to Lesbo, Cyprus and Greece, and personally brought back refugees, mainly from Syria and middle eastern countries fleeing war into Rome. Before he flew to Cyprus, he promised to relocate 50 asylum seekers to Italy. In an address with the Greek president in attendance he pleaded, “Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization, I ask every man and woman, all of us, to overcome the paralysis of fear, the indifference that kills, the cynical disregard that nonchalantly condiments to death those on the fringes.’  

It is undeniable that Pope Francis has left a mark and has ignited a movement for a more liberal Vatican, but he has met some pushback, even from the 108 cardinals whom he personally appointed. As the Vatican moves to form a conclave and take part in their famously secretive voting process, the votes will decide the true impact that Jorge Mario Bergoglio has made on one of the largest religious institutions in the world.