The following are some of the major events of the life and ministry of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88.
1936
December 17 – Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Italian immigrants.
1969
December 13 – Ordained a priest.
1973
July 31 – Becomes head of the Jesuits in Argentina.
1992
May 20 – Appointed Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires.
1998
February 28 – Appointed Archbishop, Primate of Argentina. He becomes famous for commuting to work on public transport, not living in the archbishop's palace and cooking his own meals.
2001
February 21 – Appointed a cardinal by Pope John Paul II.
2005
April 19 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected pope after four ballots, takes the name Benedict. Subsequent leaks show that Bergoglio came second in all the secret ballots.
2013
March 13 – Bergoglio is elected pope after the shock resignation of Pope Benedict. He takes the name Francesco (Francis) and is the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
July 8 – Makes first pastoral trip outside Rome, visiting the Italian island of Lampedusa and condemns the “globalisation of indifference” to the plight of migrants.
July 29 – During his first news conference onboard the papal plane, Francis says: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” – The comment was seen as the most conciliatory attitude to LGBT people by a pontiff.
November 26 – Calls for a deep renewal of the Church in a major document (apostolic exhortation) setting out his papacy.
2014
February 24 – Creates a new body within the Vatican to coordinate economic and administrative affairs.
May 24-26 – Visits the Holy Land. He becomes the first pontiff to lay a wreath at the tomb of the founder of modern Zionism. He also prays in front of the Israeli security wall that is despised by Palestinians.
2015
June 18 – Releases first papal document dedicated to the environment, the encyclical “Laudato Si”, urging world leaders to hear “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”.
2016
April 8 – In a document on family life, Francis urges priests to be more accepting of divorced or remarried Catholics and to welcome single parents and LGBT people. But he rejects the notion of same-sex marriage.
June 26 – Says Christians owe apologies to LGBT community and others who have been offended or exploited by the church.
November 2 – Tells reporters the Catholic ban on female priests is forever.
2017
January 2 – Pope Francis says in a letter bishops must show zero tolerance to clergy who sexually abuse children. He begs forgiveness for “a sin that shames us”.
June 28 – Cardinal George Pell, appointed Vatican economy minister by Francis, is charged with multiple historical sex crimes in his native Australia. He is initially convicted in December 2018, but then found not guilty in April 2020 on appeal.
