Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and American pope, dies at 88

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, died on April 21, 2025 (Lunedì dell'Angelo) at age 88. He was the 266th pope and the first from the Americas and the Jesuit order. His funeral will follow the Novendiali tradition with nine days of mourning during the Jubilee. Elected on March 13, 2013, he led the Church for 12 years, focusing on the poor and interfaith dialogue. He was the first pope to visit Iraq and the first to visit the Venice Biennale in 2024, where the Holy See pavilion was hosted in the Giudecca women's prison. In 2023, he met over 200 artists for the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Museums' Modern and Contemporary Art Collection. The Jubilee 2025 included the 'Giubileo degli Artisti' in February, with the exhibition space Conciliazione 5 curated by Cristiana Perrella addressing migration, poverty, and exploitation. Before his novitiate, Bergoglio suffered a severe pneumonia at 21, had part of his right lung removed, worked as a cleaner and bouncer, and began his Jesuit novitiate on March 11, 1958. He studied philosophy in Buenos Aires and became rector of the theology faculty in San Miguel.