Pope Francis, who died on Monday at 88 years old, was often referred to as the "People's Pope" for his leadership and advocacy for underrepresented groups.
"Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time," former President Joe Biden wrote on X. "He advocated for the voiceless and powerless."
Francis was known for focusing on global issues like the refugee crisis, climate change and human trafficking. His passion for more inclusivity within the church was even made evident by the name he chose when becoming pope — he became the first pope to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, known for his commitment to the poor and the environment.
Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, as the eldest of five children of immigrant parents who fled Italy in the late 1920s. Throughout his youth, he worked a series of jobs — including as a nightclub bouncer — before he joined the seminary in his early 30s.
Francis joined the Jesuit community in 1958 and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1969. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was made a cardinal in 2001 under Pope John Paul II.
After Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013, Francis was elected as his successor, making him the first pope from the Jesuit Order and the first pope from the Americas. After accepting his appointment, Francis stood while cardinals congratulated him, rather than sitting in the papal throne, which was the tradition, proving he was ready to change a lot of rules and standards in the Vatican.
While Francis was generally viewed as a more progressive figure, he was a traditionalist when it came to many of the Church's teachings, including topics like abortion, reproductive issues and the LGBTQ community. (However, while Francis opposed same-sex marriage, he did sign a Vatican policy change in December 2023 that allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.)
Francis's last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, where he waved to followers from the balcony of St. Peter's Square weeks after dealing with double pneumonia.
"Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day," Francis said in his Easter speech. "There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others."