The life and times of Pope Francis

Deccan Herald

21-04-2025

Following are some of the major events of the life and ministry of Pope Francis..December 17 - Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Italian immigrants..December 13 - Ordained a priest..July 31 - Becomes head of the Jesuits in Argentina..May 20 - Appointed Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires..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..February 21 - Appointed a cardinal by Pope John Paul II..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..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?" - 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..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..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"..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..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.July 1 - In a major shake-up, Francis replaces Catholicism's top theologian, a conservative German cardinal who has been at odds with the pontiff's vision of a more inclusive Church..January 30 - Just days after defending a Chilean bishop accused of sex crimes against minors, the pope sends top sexual abuse expert to Chile to investigate. In April, Francis says he made "grave mistakes" in handling the Chile crisis, asks for forgiveness.May 18 - In an unprecedented move, all Chile's bishops offer to resign after attending a crisis meeting with Pope Francis. In the subsequent months he accepts many of the resignations.July 28 - Accepts resignation of U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In February 2019, Francis expels him from the priesthood after the Church finds him guilty of sexually abusing minors - the first time a cardinal has been defrocked for sexual abuse.August 25-26 - Visits Ireland, says Church failure to adequately address "repugnant" clerical child abuse crimes in Ireland is a source of shame for Catholics. He begs forgiveness.August 26 - A former top Vatican official, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, accuses the pope of knowing for years of sex abuse allegations against Cardinal McCarrick; says Francis should resign. Months later, the Vatican accuses Vigano of calumny.September 22 - The Vatican signs a landmark agreement giving it a long-desired say in the appointment of bishops in China. Critics label the deal a sellout to the Communist government..February 21 - Pope opens an unprecedented four-day meeting with Catholic leaders from around the world on child sex abuse. Calls for "concrete and efficient measures" to tackle the abuse.April 19 - Meets South Sudan's previously warring leaders and kisses their feet. Urges them not to return to a civil war. May 24 - Appoints women to a key Vatican department for the first time. In January 2020, he appoints the first woman to hold a high-ranking post in the Secretariat of State. In August 2020 he appoints six women to Vatican finance council. In November 2021 he names a woman to the number 2 position in the governorship of the Vatican City. In March 2022, he introduces a reform saying Catholic women could in future take charge of most departments.June 2 - During a visit to Romania, the pope asks forgiveness in the name of the Catholic Church for the mistreatment of the Roma people..February 12 - In an apparent victory for conservative clergy, the pope dismisses a proposal to allow some married men to be ordained in remote areas of the Amazon.March 7 - The pope cancels all regular public appearances because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planned trips are also cancelled. On March 27, he holds a solitary prayer service in the vast, empty St. Peter's Square.September 24 - The pope fires Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu from powerful Vatican post after accusing him of embezzlement and nepotism. Becciu denies wrongdoing. He is indicted for alleged financial crimes in July 2021 and is convicted in December 2023 of embezzlement and fraud and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. He remains free pending appeal.November 5 - Shakes up running of Vatican funds after London property scandal.December 31 - The pope, suffering a flare-up of a sciatica condition that causes pain in his right leg, misses New Year's Eve and New Year's Day services - the first time health problems caused him to skip major religious events..January 11 - Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, changes Church law, saying they can serve as readers at liturgies, altar servers and distributors of communion.January 21 - A Vatican court convicts Angelo Caloia, a former head of the Vatican bank, on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, making him the highest-ranking Vatican official to be convicted of a financial crime.March 5 - Resuming trips after the COVID crisis, Francis makes the first visit by a pontiff to Iraq.July 4 - Has surgery to remove part of his colon, spends 11 days in hospital to recuperate.July 16 - In blow to conservatives, Francis overturns the decisions of his two predecessors and re-imposes restrictions on the old-style Latin Mass preferred by traditionalist Catholics. October 29 - U.S. President Joe Biden says after meeting the pope that the pontiff had told him he was a "good Catholic" who can receive communion, widening gulf with conservative prelates.. February 25 - Departing from protocol, the pope visits the Russian embassy to the Vatican to relay personally his concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the following weeks and months he repeatedly calls for an end to the war and grows increasingly critical of Moscow for launching the invasion.July 24 - Starts a six-day visit to Canada where he repeatedly asks forgiveness for sexual abuse at schools for indigenous children run by Catholic orders.December 31 - Pope Benedict dies in the Vatican monastery where he had lived since his resignation in 2013..January 11 - The conservative Cardinal Pell dies in Rome. It is later revealed that he had penned an anonymous 2021 memo condemning Francis's papacy as a "catastrophe".March 29 - Francis is admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome with a respiratory infection.June 7 - Francis is admitted to Gemelli hospital for an operation on his abdomen.October 4 - The pope starts a month-long summit of bishops to discuss potentially momentous issues for the Church. However, the meeting ends without taking clear stands on issues such as women deacons and welcoming the LGBT community.November 11 - In a very rare move, Francis dismisses Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, one of his fiercest critics among U.S. Catholic conservatives.November 28 - In a further move targeting a conservative critic, Francis punishes U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke by evicting him from a large Vatican apartment and revoking his salary.November 28 - The pope cancels a planned trip to the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai after suffering a lung inflammation.December 18 - The Vatican says in a landmark ruling approved by Francis that Roman Catholic priests can administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies..June 14 - Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to address a Group of Seven summit, telling leaders about the potential risks and benefits of artificial intelligence.September 2 - Starts a 12-day visit to four island nations across Southeast Asia and Oceania, travelling nearly 33,000 km (20,500 miles) in the longest trip of his papacy.September 26 - Francis undertakes a four-day visit to Belgium and Luxembourg, where he is sharply criticised over the Church's mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases and its treatment of women.October 2 - The pope starts a month-long summit of Catholic bishops at the Vatican, the second in two years. It discusses contentious issues such as women's leadership, but the gathering ends without enacting any major reforms.October 22 - The Vatican extends its agreement with China over the appointment of Catholic bishops for a further four years. Conservative critics continue to label the deal a sellout to Beijing.December 7 - The pope appears at a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica with a large bruise on his chin, which the Vatican says is the result of a minor fall in his residence.December 24 - Francis opens the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, a special time of peace, forgiveness and pardon for Catholics that runs through early 2026..January 6 - Pope Francis names Cardinal Robert McElroy, seen as a key progressive ally in the U.S., as the new Archbishop of Washington, D.C. The appointment comes days before President Donald Trump, whose immigration crackdown Francis criticised, retakes office.February 6 - The Vatican says the pope is suffering from bronchitis but will keep his scheduled appointments. The pope had said the day before that he had a "strong cold".February 14 - The Vatican announces that the pope has been admitted to hospital for treatment of bronchitis. In later days, doctors announce he is battling double pneumonia.March 23- The pope is discharged after a 38-day hospital stay.April 20 - On Easter Sunday, the pope enters St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile for the first time since his serious illness, greeting tens of thousands of Catholics after the Vatican's celebration of Easter Mass. He also has a brief private meeting at the Vatican with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.