17 hours ago
12
Born in Argentina, Francis was the only Latin American pontiff and first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years.
Published On 21 Apr 2025
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died. He was 88 years old.
Born in Argentina, he was the first Latin American pope as well as the first non-European to serve for more than 1,000 years.
He was known for his simple words and humble manner that immediately won over the crowds.
After he assumed the papacy in 2013, Francis aimed to make the church more inclusive, opening up key roles to women and trying to address the issue of child sex abuse by Catholic clerics. Analysts, however, remain divided about the success of his efforts.
The 88-year-old pontiff was recovering from double pneumonia and was under doctors’ orders to observe two months of convalescence since he left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23.
Francis suffered from a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at the age of 21.
He became increasingly fragile in recent years.
Here are some pictures from his life as pope:
