Pope Francis Elected
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013 on the fifth ballot, the first Jesuit, the first from the Americas, and the first to take the name Francis. The conclave followed the resignation of Benedict XVI in February, the first papal abdication in almost six hundred years, and met against the Vatileaks scandal, the disorder of the curia and the unresolved abuse crisis. Bergoglio had reportedly been runner-up in 2005. Born in Buenos Aires in 1936 to Italian immigrants, he had trained as a chemical technician, entered the Jesuits, led the Argentine province during the dictatorship — a period he was criticised over for many years — and as archbishop had lived in a small flat, cooked for himself and used the bus. He signalled the pontificate's direction in the first minutes, appearing without the mozzetta, asking the crowd to bless him before he blessed them, and paying his own hotel bill the next morning. He declined the Apostolic Palace and lived in the guesthouse. The name was for Francis of Assisi, and for the poor. His priorities followed: Lampedusa as his first trip outside Rome, Laudato Si' on the environment in 2015, a synodal process opening consultation to laity, financial reform of the Vatican bank, and a persistent emphasis on mercy over doctrinal policing — who am I to judge, on a flight in 2013, became the most quoted line of his papacy. He kept the doctrine and changed the tone, which satisfied neither of the Church's wings. He appointed cardinals from countries that had never had one, shifting the composition of the body that would elect his successor. He died in April 2025 after twelve years in office.
- Year: 2013 CE
- Category: Biographical
