Pope Francis: A life in pictures

This undated file photo made available by Maria Helena Bergoglio shows Jorge Mario Bergoglio as a teenager in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In this 1966 photo released by the El Salvador School, Argentine seminarian Jorge Mario Bergoglio smiles for a portrait at the El Salvador school where he taught literature and psychology, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio gives a Mass outside the San Cayetano church where an Argentine flag hangs behind in Buenos Aires, Argentina – Friday 7 Aug. 2009.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who chose the name of Pope Francis, waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican – Wednesday 13 March 2013.

Pope Francis waves from the popemobile as he rides along the Copacabana beachfront on his way to celebrate mass for World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Sunday 28 July 2013.

US President Barack Obama, left, meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican – Thursday 27 March 2014.

Pope Francis prays at Israel’s separation barrier on his way to a mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem – Sunday 25 May 2014.

Pope Francis prays in front of the Western Wall, in Jerusalem’s Old City – Monday 26 May 2014.

Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona greets Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican – Monday 1 Sept. 2014.

Pope Francis walks next to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican – Wednesday 10 June 2015.

US Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner and others applaud Pope Francis as he arrives to address a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, making history as the first pontiff to do so – Thursday 24 Sept. 2015.

President Barack Obama bids farewell to Pope Francis following their meeting at the White House in 2015.

Pope Francis dons a Mexican charro style sombrero, in Mexico City’s main square, the Zocalo – Saturday 13 Feb. 2016.

Pope Francis drinks from a traditional South American cup at the end of his weekly general audience, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican – Wednesday 6 April 2016.

Pope Francis walks through the gate of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland – Friday 29 July 2016.

Ivanka Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and President Donald Trump stand with Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican – Wednesday 24 May 2017.

Pope Francis is greeted by young children in traditional clothes upon his arrival at Yangon’s airport, Myanmar – Monday 27 Nov. 2017.

French President Emmanuel Macron goes to hug Pope Francis at the end of their private audience, at the Vatican – Tuesday 26 June 2018.

Pope Francis greets people as he arrives at a lunch for the poor, homeless, migrants and unemployed, at the Vatican – Sunday 18 Nov. 2018.

Pope Francis twirls a soccer ball he was presented by a member of the Circus of Cuba, during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican – Wednesday 2 Jan. 2019.

Flanked by Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela and first lady Lorena Castillo, Pope Francis arrives at the foreign ministry headquarters Palacio Bolivar, in Panama City – Thursday 24 Jan. 2019.

Pope Francis, surrounded by shells of destroyed churches, leads a prayer for the victims of war at Hosh al-Bieaa Church Square, in Mosul, Iraq, evvel the de-facto capital of IS – Sunday 7 March 2021.

Pope Francis meets a man wearing a Spider-Man costume, who presented him with his mask, at the end of his weekly general audience with a limited number of faithful in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican – Wednesday 23 June 2021.

Pope Francis meets with President Joe Biden during a private audience at the Vatican – October 29, 2021.

Pope Francis puts on an indigenous headdress during a meeting with Indigenous communities, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit, at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Maskwacis, near Edmonton, Canada – Monday 25 July 2022.

Pope Francis sits as the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is carried in St. Peter’s Square for his funeral mass, at the Vatican – Thursday 5 Jan. 2023.

Pope Francis consoles Serena Subania who lost her daughter Angelica, 5 years old, the day before, as he leaves the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome – Saturday 1 April 2023 after receiving treatment for a bronchitis.

Pope Francis gestures as he attends an annual gathering of pro-family organisations at the Auditorium della Conciliazione, in Rome – Friday 10 May 2024.

Pope Francis waves faithful after celebrating Easter mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday 31 March 2024.

Pope Francis attends an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore – Friday 13 Sept. 2024.

Pope Francis meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City – 11 October 2024.

Pope Francis is helped by Vatican Master of Ceremonies, Bishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli as he arrives for a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at The Vatican on New Year’s Day – Wednesday 1 Jan. 2025.

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter’s Square, at the Vatican – Sunday 19 Jan. 2025.

Pope Francis gives the thumbs up as he appears at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday 23 March 2025, where he had been treated for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since 14 Feb. 2025.

Postcards of Pope Francis are sold outside St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican – Tuesday 1 April 2025.

Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla meet Pope Francis at The Vatican – Wednesday 9 April 2025.

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter’s Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican – Sunday 20 April 2025.

Pope Francis: 1936 – 2025