Pope Francis dead: Incredible life of pontiff who captured world's imagination with his passion

Pope Francis has died aged 88 after having suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis.

The Vatican today confirmed the Argentine pontiff died following his treatment for bronchitis at Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The Holy See's announcement comes after a spokesperson said his respiratory tract infection had sparked a “complex clinical picture” that would require further hospital treatment. In his final days as head of the Catholic Church, the pontiff continued to make phone calls with members of a Catholic parish in Gaza. However, his health issues also led him to cancel several events, including meeting King Charles and Queen Camilla as they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in recent days.

The Pontiff was unable to deliver Easter Sunday prayers at the Vatican's St. Peter's Square but during a brief appearance he blessed people in St Peter’s Square, and said: “Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter”.

In the message, shared by The Vatican, he also thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers. And in a poignant reference to Ukraine following US President Donald Trump ’s bust-up with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in The Oval office, the Holy Father said: “From here, war appears even more absurd,” he said, adding: “Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu.”

He has suffered from several ailments in recent times, including in March this year when he was hospitalised after having trouble breathing in recent days and was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. This recent hospitalisation was one of several health issues Pope Francis faced since he had 33 centimetres of his colon removed and spent 10 days at the Gemelli Hospital in July 2021.

His death was announced by the Vatican, and it is expected that his funeral will take place in St Peter’s Square. His body will lie at St Peter’s Basilica to allow dignitaries and some of the faithful to pay their final respects. In one final signature break with papal tradition, Pope Francis previously disclosed plans to be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, signifying his devotion to the Virgin Mary – as opposed to the Vatican.

Pope Francis previously oversaw the funeral of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, months before his own death. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, the late pope was from Buenos Aires, where he was the eldest of five children born to a middle-class family of Italian immigrants. Pope Francis initially qualified as a chemical technician before taking up a job in the food processing industry.

At 21, the future pope underwent surgery to have part of one of his lungs removed following a severe bout of pleurisy, and it was at around this time that he began to realise his vocation, which became apparent when he stopped off at church on his way to join friends for a holiday celebration. He later remembered: “It surprised me, caught me with my guard down.

After entering the Jesuit novitiate in 1958, Pope Frances studied humanities, philosophy and theology in Chile and Argentina before being ordained as a priest in 1969. He was made Superior of the Jesuit province of Argentina in 1973, a position he held for six years. During this period came one of the most controversial moments of his career.

Following a 1976 military coup, two Jesuit priests who'd been preaching left-wing liberation theology in the slums, were abducted and tortured by regime loyalists. Five months later, they were found semi-naked and drugged.

One of these priests, Orlando Yorio, accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads on account of his refusal to endorse their work. However, his colleague, Francisco Jalics, later accepted that he'd had no part in their brutal kidnapping.

Decades later, when he was pope, Pope Francis finally opened up to his biographer about his behind-the-scenes intervention with the dictatorship that had secured the preachers' release and likely saved their lives. Pope Francis stated he'd regularly assisted those fleeing the authorities during the years of the so-called “dirty war” - a time when thousands “disappeared”, never to be heard from again.

For a while, Pope Francis's church career appeared to have stalled, however, everything changed in 1992, when he was appointed auxiliary bishop of his native Buenos Aires. Six years later, he rose to become archbishop, and in 2001 he was consecrated a cardinal.

The then-cardinal's humility and his advocacy for those living in poverty endeared him the city's inhabitants, and his regular visits most rundown, crime-ridden barrios earned him the nickname “slum bishop”. Instead of moving into the official residence of the archbishop, the humble future pope opted to stay in his modest flat where he cooked his own meals, and went out and about by public transport.

During this time, Pope Francis clashed with the government of president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who – in a surprisisng twist given his later reputation as a liberal – regarded him a right-wing extremist following his criticims of her social reforms, which included the introduction of same-sex marriage.

A popular figure among his fellow Latin American bishops, Pope Francis's down-to-earth style made him a favourite for the top job. Following the death of Pope John Paul II, he reportedly secured the second-highest tally of votes in a conclave of cardinals to elect a successor before ultimately stepping down in favour of the arch-conservative Joseph Ratzinger.

At that point in time, it seemed to many that Pope Francis's moment had come and gone, but then Ratzinger – who took the papal name Benedict XVI – unexpectedly resigned in 2013. Still a popular choice, Bergoglio came out top in the conclave, securing the election in the fifth round of voting.

By becoming the first pope in history to take on the papal name Francis, after St Francis of Assisi, who dedicated his life to the poor, the new pope made his intentions clear from the get-go. On election night, the newly elected pontiff rode the bus back to his hotel with the cardinals, as opposed to being driven in the papal car. The following morning, he insisted on paying the hotel bill.

Just as he did during his time in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis chose to forgo the sumptuous state apartments in the Apostolic Palace, instead making a home for himself in a guest house in the Vatican grounds.

Pope Francis was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to lead the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the first non-European for more than 1,200 years. His election as the 266th pope surprised analysts, who may have been expecting a younger man than the 76-year-old.

Indeed, by the time he ascended the throne of St Peter, Pope Francis had been preparing for retirement, having previously missed out on the appointment following the death of Pope John Paul II eight years earlier. However, after he entered office, those close to the pope remarked that he was a man rejuvenated as he worked to breathe new life into the church.

This proved to be another eventful chapter in the extraordinary life of a man who worked as a nightclub bouncer and a janitor before finding his calling. His very first papal address sparked outrage among some church conservatives due to his choice to wear a simple white cassock rather than the customary papal robes. He did, however, win the approval of Esquire magazine, who declared him their “best-dressed man” of the year.

For his first visit beyond Rome, Pope Francis travelled to the tiny island of Lampedusa, where he prayed for the thousands of migrants who had washed up there after attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Africa. The plight of migrants fleeing warzones and poverty was one that Pope Francis spoke passionately about as he carved out his vision for a caring Catholic Church, and he previously drew stark comparisons between European migrant detention centres and concentration camps.

In an early interview, Pope Francis put forward his view of what role the church should have, describing it as “a field hospital after battle”, with a focus on ministering to the impoverished, the spiritually broken and the lonely. He explained: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security."

Soon after entering office, Pope Francis moved to tackle the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank – which had become notorious for corruption and money laundering – and also worked to overhaul the curia, the Vatican bureaucracy. Just two weeks after his election, Pope Francis carried out the Maundy Thursday ritual of washing and kissing the feet of 12 people, replicating Christ’s gesture to his 12 disciples during The Last Supper.

In keeping with his humble approach, Pope Francis carried out the ceremony in a youth centre on the outskirts of Rome, not one of the basilicas. In another notable break from tradition, two of the detainees were not Catholics but Muslims, two of whom were young women.

Given that women had previously been excluded, this deliberate act would set the tone for Pope Francis's outward-looking papacy. From his early days in office, the pope criticised the church for being “obsessed” with issues such as homosexuality, abortion and birth control, famously declaring: “Who am I to judge?” in response to a question about homosexuality during one of his first public pronouncements.

However, his stance on such matters was far from simple. Indeed, the following year, Pope Francis spoke out in opposition to same-sex marriage, defending what he referred to as the “traditional” family while reaffirming the church’s opposition to abortion.

In 2024, the pope was forced to apologise following his complaint that there was too much “frociaggine” – a rough translation of “faggotry” – among younger seminarians.

In 2016, the pope's second apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (the joy of love), sparked yet more fury among his fellow Catholics, with its focus on recognising the complexities of family life and providing a more welcoming environment for divorcees.

His stance on divorced and remarried Catholics, who he believed could, under certain circumstances, receive holy communion, proved to be his greatest controversy. Indeed, the subsequent backlash was so intense that The Guardian described the pope at the time as “one of the most hated men in the world today”.

One furious English priest reportedly even likened him to the supposedly cruel and unpredictable Roman emperor Caligula, fuming: “If he had a horse, he’d make him cardinal.” A furious open letter signed by 62 Catholics, including one retired bishop, accused Pope Francis of heretical teaching. Meanwhile, four cardinals made a formal request for a series of clarifications.

Notably, Pope Francis made it his mission to address the terrible legacy of clerical child sex abuse within the Church over a period of many decades, with apologies given to survivors. During his 2018 visit to Ireland, Pope Francis acknowledged the “grave scandal” of the Catholic church’s failure to confront such horrors. However, a number of people were left disappointed that he, in turn, didn't address demands for action put forward by survivors.

In March 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, Pope Francis performed an Urbi et Orbi blessing – usually reserved for festivals such as Christmas and Easter – in a silent St Peter’s Square as he prayed for the end of the pandemic. He also fought against vaccine scepticism, urging followers to get their vaccines while impressing upon them that healthcare was a “moral obligation”.

In his final years, Pope Francis dealt with a number of growing health issues, which meant he was forced to cancel or postpone engagements. Colon surgery followed a bout of sciatica, and he began using a wheelchair on account of his knee problems.

However, even as his health failed him, Pope Francis continued to engage on the defining issues of his papacy, condemning US President Donald Trump’s plans for the mass deportation of migrants, with the warning that it would “end badly”.

There was a view that Pope Francis was looking beyond his papacy when he consecrated 21 new cardinals, regarded by some as a bid to secure his legacy, in the hope that the next conclave would elect a successor with the same focus on reform.