Pope Francis, the first pontiff of the Americas, died at 88

Pope Francis, the Argentinian Jesuit who became the first Roman Catholic pontiff in the Americas, died, the Vatican announced on Monday. He was 88 years old.

In a video address, Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the news. “The dear most expensive brothers and sisters, with deep sadness, I must announce the death of our Saint-Père Francis,” he said, according to a translation.

“At 7:35 am this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the father’s house. All his life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his Church. He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with loyalty, courage and universal love, in particular in favor of the poorest and most marginalized,” said the cardinal.

“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we congratulate the soul of Pope Francis in the infinite merciful love of the Trinitarian God.”

Francis, who was elected 266th pope of the church after the retreat of Benedict XVI in 2013, was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the middle class of Flores in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936.

He was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope of the southern hemisphere. He was the first person outside of Europe selected to direct the church in almost 1,300 years, after Pope Gregory III of Syria, which was chosen in 731.

Son of an Italian immigrant father and an Italian Argentinian mother, Francis was the eldest of five children. As a student, he worked as a concierge and a nightclub before becoming a chemical technician.

Francis was ordained Jesuit priest in 1969 and became head of the order of the Society of Jesus in Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 at the age of 36, occupying the post until 1979.

Pope John Paul II appointed Francis a bishop in 1992, and six years later, Francis became Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2001, John Paul made him a cardinal.

Francis presided over the Catholic Church in times of increasing tension. In 2021, the American bishops wrote a proposal that would have denied communion to the newly elected president Joe Biden for his support for abortion rights. The vote of the American Conference of Catholic Bishops to write the plan came to objections of the best doctrinal advisor to the Pope, Cardinal Luis Ladaria.

More than two months later, Francis himself has strongly hinted at his opposition to the proposal of the American bishops, telling journalists: “Communion is not a price for the perfect.”

“I have never refused the Eucharist to anyone,” said the pope, calling on bishops to be pastors, not politicians. “What should the pastor do?” He continued. “Be pastor, do not condemn. Be pastor, because he is also a pastor for excommunication.”

But he also firmly declared his opposition to abortion, the appellant “homicide”. “He who has an abortion kills,” he said.

Although Francis strives to avoid climbing from cultural wars and a polarization of his herd, he offered words encouraging the Catholics LGBTQ +. While returning to Rome since Portugal in August 2023, he told journalists that the Catholic Church was open to all and that it had a duty to accompany people on their personal path of spirituality in the context of its rules.

During an event in Portugal, Francis praised the inclusive nature of the church by leading a crowd in a song of “Todos, Todos, Todos!” (Everyone, everyone, everyone!).

He crowned 2023 saying that priests could bless the same sex couples, a major change in the Vatican policy. The Pope said that such blessings should not look like marriages, but that people who are looking for the love and mercy of God should not be subject to “exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.

He also wanted a larger role for women in the church, especially in the high -ranking positions of the Vatican. In April 2023, he announced that he had decided to give women the right to vote at a next meeting of the bishops. It was a historical first and achieved two objectives: to give women of greater decision -making responsibilities and by giving more laymen in the life of the Church.

When Francis was a young man, he was part of a lung removed due to the complications of a lung disease, a health problem that said that the Vatican had never affected his work.

In recent years, he has had continuous health problems, including various respiratory problems, flu and several surgeries.

He was hospitalized for the first time as a pope when he underwent colon surgery on July 4, 2021 at Gemelli hospital for diverticular stenosis. The Vatican said that the operation had been planned, but the announcement sent shock waves through the church.

He was again hospitalized at the end of March 2023 and treated for bronchitis. He joked to journalists before being hunted that he was “always alive”. Just over two months later, he underwent surgery to repair a hernia.