Biography: Francisco [Jorge Mario Bergoglio] | Current Pope of the Catholic Church who began his pontificate in March 2013.

(Buenos Aires, 1936) Current Pope of the Catholic Church who began his pontificate in March 2013, after being elected in the conclave after the unexpected resignation of his predecessor, Benedicto XVI. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took after his election the name of Francisco, never adopted by any previous Pontiff, and was immediately called by the media I Francisco; the Vatican had to clarify that its official name is Francisco, no ordinal. In the figure of the Pope Francis have merged two made unprecedented in the history of the Catholic Church: they belong to the society of Jesus (never a Jesuit had been elevated to the throne of Peter) and Hispanic origin, after twenty-one centuries of Popes originating in Europe or Middle East.

The father Francisco

Born into a modest family of Italian immigrants, they were his parents Mario Bergoglio, railways employee, and Regina, housewife. After graduating as a technical chemist, at the age of 21 he felt the call of religious vocation and entered the Jesuit Seminary in Villa Devoto (Buenos Aires City), of which egresaría priest on December 13, 1969.

During the years preceding the ordination had been Professor at schools which the Jesuits had in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires; then he went on to lose a lung because of a respiratory illness. Bright career presbiterial, confined to the society of Jesus, became it Argentine provincial of the same (1973-1979), at times hard and violent, those of the military dictatorship, which had to return to the pastoral mission of the religious order founded by San Ignacio de Loyola.

On May 20, 1992 he was consecrated titular bishop of Auca, who became one of the four auxiliary prelates of Buenos Aires. He was later named coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese (3 June 1997), whose Director took over, as Archbishop, on February 28, 1998. He then began an intense pastoral work based on two complementary lines: preaching among the working classes and the denunciation of the economic and social injustices. He accompanied this work with examples of noises in their occupations and customs.

Criticism of administrative corruption, first, and more later their firm opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage, marred the personal and institutional relationships with Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and his wife and successor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Pope Juan Paul II appointed him Cardinal with the titulus of San Roberto Belarmino (21 February 2001), judiciary, which combined with the rank of Primate of Argentina, highest authority of Catholicism in his country. He was also President of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina and of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM).

In the conclave held after the death of John Paul II (2005), Buenos Aires Archbishop obtained 40 papal votes, but the choice was decanted in favour of the German Joseph Ratzinger, who assumed the Papacy as Benedict XVI. Apparently, during the first two votes, Bergoglio became ask almost with tears in the eyes of the rest of his brothers Cardinals who will vote for him, to stop because it didn't with the strength to take on the fate of the Supreme Pontiff.

The choice and the pontificate

Eight years later, the resignation of Benedicto XVI (28 February 2013) was the event which made possible the rise of Argentine Cardinal to the throne of Peter, for which he was elected on 13 March of the same year. Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Latin American pontiff in the first Jesuit Pope in the history of the Church and in the first of their parents who adopted the name of Francisco, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. The choice of that name fits with the character of the new Pontiff, whose modesty and humility were already patent in his period as Archbishop and Cardinal, in which renounced his official car and his palatial residence to live in a small apartment where he was preparing his meals.

Francisco greets the faithful after his election

March 19, in the homily for the mass of inauguration of the pontificate, Pope Francisco said obligation of Peter's successors was «put your eyes in humble service» and «open arms to safeguard all the people of God and welcome tenderness and affection to all mankind, especially the poor, the weak ', kids ', words that opened expectancy of renewal in the action of the Church; unexpected however such renewal to reach doctrinal issues, regarding which the new Pope had been always conservative.

Obviously, a year is a short time within a pontificate, and a totally insufficient period to visualize changes in a millennia-old institution; in spite of this we can say that numerous signs that pointed to a renewed intention had been sent to March 2014. The humble and close style of the new Pontiff became standard: Francisco resigned to live in the episcopal Palace and preferred instead the casa Santa Marta in the Vatican. And, in numerous statements, father Francisco not only reaffirmed its commitment to the poor, peace and social justice, but showed an unprecedented degree of tolerance toward homosexuality and opened the door to the revision of ecclesiastical celibacy.

Deeper results are those that can be expected from the relatively silent ecclesiastical reform undertaken by the Francisco Pope. The removal of Tarsicio Cardinal Bertone as Secretary of State for the Vatican and the appointment to such position of Archbishop Pietro Parolin was the next step to the creation of a Council of Cardinals, he entrusted the curia reform projects; Meanwhile independent agency formed by members of its confidence, could arise from the same proposals really refreshing. This process has shown the value and intelligence of the Francisco Pope, who thus prevented from the outset be aground in the complex machinery of the Vatican.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas