Description
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis is the reigning pope of the Catholic Church, in which capacity he is both Bishop of Rome and absolute Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected him as his successor on 13 March, 2013. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Originally from Argentina, Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 741.
