The Life of Pope Francis, in Photos

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Pope Francis, the first pontiff to come from the Americas, died today at the age of 88. Born in Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio first joined the Catholic priesthood in 1969. He was named the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was elected pope in 2013, choosing the papal name of Francis. As the new head of the Catholic Church, Francis brought an openness to debate; a renewed focus on the dignity and rights of immigrants, the poor, and Indigenous peoples; and more accommodating views toward LGBTQ issues—though he stopped short of urging significant changes in Church doctrine. Denouncing wasteful consumption, Francis also championed a moral view on environmental issues and our responsibility to care for our planet and one another. Gathered here is a collection of images from the life of Pope Francis.

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Pope Francis visits with journalists during a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 22, 2013, just months after becoming the Catholic Church's first pontiff from the Americas. #

Luca Zennaro / AP

A black-and-white photo of a younger Pope Francis, then a priest named Jorge Mario Bergoglio

In this undated photograph, courtesy of the Jesuit General Curia in Rome, Jesuit priest Jorge Mario Bergoglio, later to be elected Pope Francis, poses. #

Franco Origlia / Jesuit General Curia / Getty

Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio, elected Pope Francis I, waves from the window of St Peter's Basilica's balcony after being elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, at the Vatican. #

Vincenzo Pinto / AFP / Getty

Half a dozen phones are held up, taking videos and photos of Pope Francis.

The faithful greet Pope Francis and take photos of him with their phones upon his arrival for the weekly general audience on January 9, 2019, at the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. #

Andreas Solaro / AFP / Getty

An elevated view of a wide beach in Rio de Janeiro, completely packed with thousands of people.

Hundreds of thousands of people crowd Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, on July 28, 2013, as Pope Francis celebrates the final Mass of his visit to Brazil. Throngs of pilgrims attending World Youth Day spent the night on the beach before Sunday's final Mass; the city's mayor said he expected up to 3 million people to pack the beach for the occasion. #

Christophe Simon / AFP / Getty

Pope Francis embraces Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI beside a helicopter.

Pope Francis greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as he arrives by helicopter at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo for a meeting and lunch. Benedict has lived at the Italian residence since he abdicated, on March 23, 2013. #

Osservatore Romano / Vatican Media / Getty

Pope Francis, seated in a large chair and surrounded by performers, twirls a soccer ball on a finger, helped by another performer.

Pope Francis twirls a soccer ball that was presented to him by a member of the Circus of Cuba, during his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, on January 2, 2019. #

Andrew Medichini / AP

Pope Francis sits at a desk, addressing a TV screen that shows a crew aboard the International Space Station.

Pope Francis speaks to the crew aboard the International Space Station from the Vatican, on October 26, 2017. #

L'Osservatore Romano / AP

A small child, held by an adult, touches Pope Francis's face.

A child touches Pope Francis's face during his weekly general audience at the Vatican on January 3, 2018. #

Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty

A gust of wind blows a loose part of Pope Francis’s clothing over his head and face.

A gust of wind blows Pope Francis’s mantle during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on November 5, 2014. #

Alessandra Tarantino / AP

Pope Francis greets a large crowd of people.

Pope Francis greets people at the Presidential Palace in Dili, Timor-Leste, on September 9, 2024. #

Willy Kurniawan / AFP / Getty

Blurred handheld candles burn in the background as Pope Francis touches a statue.

Hand-held candles burn in the background as Pope Francis touches the figure representing Our Lady of Fatima during his visit to the Chapel of the Apparitions at the Shrine of Fatima, in Fatima, Portugal, on May 12, 2017. #

Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty

Pope Francis hugs a a woman who crying on his chest.

Pope Francis consoles Serena Subania, who lost her daughter, 5-year-old Angelica, the day before, as he leaves the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, on April 1, 2023, after receiving treatment for bronchitis. #

Gregorio Borgia / AP

Pope Francis walks alone through a gate at Auschwitz.

Pope Francis walks through Auschwitz's notorious gate with its sign reading "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work sets you free") during his visit to the former Nazi death camp, in Poland on July 29, 2016. #

Filippo Monteforte / Reuters

Pope Francis is cheered by a large crowd.

Pope Francis is cheered by the crowd as he arrives for an audience with members of the Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on June 13, 2015. #

Alessandra Tarantino / AP

Pope Francis and President Barack Obama smile as they exchange gifts at the Vatican on March 27, 2014. #

Gabriel Bouys / AP

Pope Francis washes and kisses the feet of young people during a ceremony.

Pope Francis celebrates the traditional rite of the washing of feet at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary on April 6, 2023, in Rome, Italy. On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the penitentiary, where he washed the feet of 12 young people there. #

Vatican Media / Getty

Pope Francis delivers a blessing to an empty St. Peter’s Square during COVID-19-related lockdowns.

Pope Francis delivers an extraordinary “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”) blessing—normally given only at Christmas and Easter—from an empty St. Peter’s Square, as a response to the global coronavirus outbreak, at the Vatican, on March 27, 2020. #

Yara Nardi / Reuters

Pope Francis wears an Indigenous headdress at a meeting in Canada.

Pope Francis receives a headdress from Indigenous leaders during his visit to Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada, on July 25, 2022. #

Todd Korol / Reuters

Pope Francis meets with a crowd of Indigenous people in a large room in a school.

Pope Francis meets with residential-school alumni at Nakasuk Elementary School Square in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, on July 29, 2022. The Pope flew to the Canadian Arctic to meet Inuit survivors of Catholic-run schools where Indigenous children were abused over a span of decades, in the final stop of a landmark tour apologizing for the Church's role. #

Vincenzo Pinto / AFP / Getty

Two people attend to Pope Francis, who is in a wheelchair, on the shore of a broad lake.

Pope Francis participates in the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage and Liturgy of the Word at Lac Ste. Anne, northwest of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on July 26, 2022. #

Vincenzo Pinto / AFP / Getty

Pope Francis is hugged by a child wearing a protective mask at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican, on January 13, 2016. #

Alessandra Tarantino / AP

A group of young women in a crowd reach and call out as Pope Francis passes by.

Faithful greet Pope Francis as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, on January 27, 2016. #

Tony Gentile / Reuters

Pope Francis shakes hands with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Pope Francis meets with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, as he arrives at the G7 Leaders Summit on day two of the 50th G7 summit at Borgo Egnazia in Fasano, Italy, on June 14, 2024. #

Vatican Media / Getty

Captured from behind, Pope Francis waves from a window to a crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square below.

Pope Francis waves to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square during his Sunday Angelus blessing on World Youth Day on November 24, 2024, in Vatican City. #

Vatican Media / Getty

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