Pope Francis' legacy: Key dates from his life

Pope Francis, aged 88, passed away on Monday, just a day after making a much-anticipated appearance at Saint Peter's Square on Easter Sunday.

Having battled chronic lung disease and undergone the removal of part of one lung in his youth, Francis had been hospitalised at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14, 2025, due to a respiratory crisis but was released on March 23, 2025, after a five-week stay where he was treated for pneumonia in both lungs.

The text of the announcement of the death of Pope Francis, was read on Monday by Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta, where Francis lived. Farrell was accompanied by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute chief of staff and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of liturgical ceremonies.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, The Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His church.”

Here are some key dates in the life of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pope:

• December 17, 1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires to an accountant and a housewife from an Italian emigrant family.

• September 21, 1953: He received his calling to become a priest. He later described being moved to go to church while heading to a school event, a day that "changed my life".

• 1957: Underwent an operation to remove part of his lung.

• March 11, 1958: After studying chemical engineering at university, he joined the Jesuit order as a novice.

• December 13, 1969: Ordained as a priest. On July 31, 1973, he became leader of Argentina's Jesuits, a position he held for six years.

• 1980: Amid tensions in the Jesuit order, he returned to work as parish priest and rector at a college in San Miguel, near the capital. In 1986 he went to Germany and later, Argentina's second city Cordoba. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1992 as auxiliary bishop.

• February 28, 1998: Appointed archbishop of Buenos Aires.

• February 21, 2001: Made cardinal by John-Paul II.

• March 13, 2013: Elected 266th pope after his predecessor Benedict XVI resigned. He chose the name Francis in reference to Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the poor.

• July 8, 2013: Made first trip outside Rome to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a major gateway to Europe for migrants, where he castigated the "globalisation of indifference."

• July 11, 2013: Launched a reform of the Vatican's penal code to fight sexual abuse against minors and corruption within the Church.

• July 29, 2013: Signals a more tolerant church when he says on a flight back from Brazil that "if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?"

• June 18, 2015: Francis published his second encyclical, "Laudato Si'" dedicated to environmentalism. The letter urges action against climate change.

• February 12, 2016: Held a historic meeting with the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, nearly 1,000 years after the schism between the Eastern Church and Rome.

• May 23, 2016: Historic audience at the Vatican with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's prestigious Al-Azhar mosque.

• April 11, 2018: Francis acknowledged "grave errors" in his handling of child sexual abuse cases in Chile and asks for forgiveness.

• September 22, 2018: Francis announced the first-ever agreement between China and the Holy See over bishop appointments.

• March 27, 2020: As much of Europe shuts down due to coronavirus, Francis delivers an "Urbi et Orbi" address alone in a deserted St Peter's Square.

• October 21, 2020: In a documentary, says he is in favour of same-sex civil unions.

• March 6, 2021: During the first ever papal visit to Iraq, he met the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

• July 4, 2021: Underwent successful colon surgery, spending 10 days in hospital.

• June 5, 2022: New Apostolic Constitution comes into force, completing a major reform of the governance of the church that he began when he took office.

• January 5, 2023: Presided over the funeral of Benedict XVI in St Peter's Square.

• March 29, 2023: Admitted to hospital for a respiratory infection, and stays three nights.

• June 7, 2023: Admitted to hospital for hernia surgery, staying nine nights.

• September 3, 2024: Embarked on epic, 12-day voyage, the farthest of his papacy, to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore -- at age 87.

• February 14, 2025: Admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Romewith bronchitis.

• March 23, 2025: Was released from the hospital after a five-week stay where he was treated for pneumonia in both lungs.
• April 6, 2025: Pope Francis makes his first public appearance after his hospital stay at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.