Early life
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to parents of Northern Italian descent. His father was a railroad worker, and his mother was a homemaker. As a teenager, Bergoglio had one lung removed, due to an infection. After high school, he attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he received a master’s degree in chemistry.
After receiving his master’s, Bergoglio went on to study at the Jesuit seminary of Villa Devoto and entered the Society of Jesus in 1958. He later continued to receive a degree in philosophy and a doctorate in theology before being ordained a priest in 1969.
Priesthood and beyond
From 1980 to 1986, Bergoglio served as rector and professor of theology at the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel. He later rose through the ranks of bishop and archbishop of Buenos Aires, before being appointed cardinal by Pope John Paul II.
Since his early life as a priest, Bergoglio carried the reputation of being ultra-conservative, being against same-sex marriage, birth control, artificial insemination, and abortion.
Journey to papacy
In 2005, after the death of Pope John Paul II, Bergoglio was among the conclave of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope. However, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected pope after a rather close election.
Ratzinger decided to step down from his position as spiritual leader of the Catholic church and, on March 13, 2013, the cardinals elected Bergoglio as the 266th pope. It is interesting to note that the group of cardinals, in this particular conclave, were all elected in the post-Vatican II era; however, most of them are already in their elder years.
Bergoglio, 76, took Francis as his name, after St. Francis of Assisi, the rich patron saint of Italy, who gave up all his belongings and took a vow of poverty. Francis had never been taken as a name by any pope.
What can we expect?
Pope Francis is known to be conservative and holds views similar to his predecessor; however, he appears to be more interested in pastoral care and may have more appeal than the prior pope because he is down-to-earth and practical. He typically carried his practical nature and vow of poverty throughout his career, and even went so far as to take the bus to work and cook his own meals. In fact, the day after he became pope, he personally paid his hotel bill.
Although not much change is expected as far as Catholic dogma is concerned, Catholics can expect that Pope Francis will work to heal a church that has been struggling with scandal. While his predecessor appeared aloof, it appears as if Pope Francis may move toward a missionary role by meeting people, and focusing on the poor and the sick, such as those living with MS and other debilitating illnesses.
Will Francis give an old church a new look by working to help solve its problems?
Image Credit: archer10 (Dennis)
