On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, the day after Easter. Francis was known for preaching peace and acceptance, as well as for making the Catholic Church more inclusive and welcoming. Additionally, he was the first non-European pope in centuries, and the first Latin American to be the pope.
Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. While he grew up in Buenos Aires, his parents immigrated there from Italy before he was born. He was ordained a priest on December 13, 1969 and later named a cardinal. This title was given to him in 2001 by one of his predecessors Pope John Paul. Later he became the pope on March 13, 2013, and served for a dozen years.
During Francis’s time as the pope he was not afraid to speak on challenging issues. He was a major contributor to the church welcoming many groups of people including the LGBTQ+ community. While he did not officially change any policies, he made it so same-sex couples could be blessed, although still not married in the church, and he allowed transgender people to be baptized as well as letting them serve as godparents.
Additionally he cared a lot about climate change and tried to make changes in a positive direction with it. In 2015, he wrote to the bishops a letter titled “Laudato Si,” which officially recognized that climate change is a global issue.
As Francis’s parents were immigrants, this issue felt very personal for him, and he worked with other world leaders on it. As reported by CNN , “He denounced President Trump’s demonization of non-White immigrants.”
Francis acted like an everyday person rather than a large figure in the world. He would talk to the average person, did not have the fanciest things, and CNN said “Instead of the luxury cars used by his predecessors, he rode around in a simple Ford Focus”. While these may seem like simple things it made him more relatable and less intimidating to fans and people around the world.
Furthermore he was upfront about his mistakes. An example of this is an apology he made for backing up a Chilean bishop who had been accused of hiding years of sexual abuse. Francis initially said there was no proof that this had actually happened, but when evidence was discovered, he realized that the bishop was guilty and that it must have been painful for the victims to hear his initial defense of the bishop. He apologized not only to the general public but also to the people personally affected by the bishop’s crime.
Pope Francis was buried in Rome on April 26.
Image Source: The Nation