Pope Francis releasing the dove of peace in Iraq, 2021

Papal visit to Vanimo, Sandaun Province, PNG, 2024

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 17 December 1936, Pope Francis was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013.

Inspired to join the Jesuit Order in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness, he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969. From 1973 to 1979, he was the Jesuit Provincial Superior in Argentina,

becoming the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.

The Pope was presented with an image of Blessed Peter To Rot in Port Moresby, 2024

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio, as his successor, the first Latin-American, in March 2013, and he chose his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout the

pontiff’s public life, Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God’s mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue. His significant achievements include the papal encyclical in 2015, which addresses the climate crisis and champions environmental stewardship; his efforts to promote unity among Catholics, non-Catholics, and non-Christians; his historic apologies to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and, in 2013 he appointed a council of cardinals to advise him on church policy.

Pope Francis made more than 45 international trips during his papacy, including the first by any pope to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Bahrain and Mongolia—but never Argentina, his homeland.

Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, 2022

In September 2024, as part of a four-nation journey, he visited Papua New Guinea, where he met with the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, and other government and civil leaders, and celebrated Mass in the capital, Port Moresby, which was attended by at least 35,000 people. He also visited Vanimo, the remote capital of Sandaun Province, where a group of Argentinean nuns and priests are working to improve the lives of those who are  abused and disadvantaged. He was welcomed by an estimated 20,000 people who gathered in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral accompanied by singing and dancing. One of his last actions was passing a decree enabling the late Peter To Rot to be PNG’s first saint.

Some of the 200,000 people who attended the Pope’s funeral

At the beginning of 2025 His Holiness received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction from US President, Joe Biden but, sadly, he died at the age of 88 in the early morning of 21 April 2025, after suffering a stroke. In the weeks before his death, he had been making fewer public appearances so that he could be treated for chronic lung disease, including a respiratory crisis and pneumonia. The pontiff made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, and his funeral in St Peter’s Square—attended by world leaders, royals and faithful worshipers – was on 26 April 2025. In early May, Cardinal Robert Prevost, from America, was elected as the new pope and will take the name Leo XIV.