Pope Francis, a voice for the poor who overcame fierce resistance to reshape the Catholic Church, died on Monday, April 21. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, he chose the name Francis when he became Pope, to honour St. Francis of Assisi, who is revered among Catholics for his work with the poor. Some highlights from the much-beloved Papa Francesco’s life – in pictures.

1. The future pope washes a woman’s feet at a maternity hospital in Buenos Aires in 2005.
2. Francis takes public transportation before celebrating Mass in Buenos Aires in 2008. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio took the bus to work and cooked his own meals.
3. A day after his election, the Pope pays his lodging bill at the Paulus VI, where he stayed during conclave.
4. Francis prays next to a rabbi at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City in May 2014. The Pope went on a three-day trip to the Holy Land, and he was accompanied by Jewish and Muslim leaders from his home country of Argentina.
5. Pope Francis prays on the floor of St. Peter’s Basilica while observing Good Friday in April 2015.
6. Pope Francis embraces Vinicio Riva, who was afflicted with neurofibromatosis, during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square. “”First, I kissed his hand, while the Pope caressed my head and wounds with his other hand; I felt only love,” Riva said.
7. The Pope dons a headdress while visiting with Indigenous people in Maskwacis, Alberta, in July 2022. As he kicked off a weeklong “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada, Francis spoke of his “sorrow, indignation and shame” over the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse of Indigenous children in residential schools.
8. The Pope answers reporters’ questions while flying back from a trip to Brazil in July 2013. During the impromptu news conference, the Pope said that he would not “judge” gays and lesbians, including gay priests. “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” he said. Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.
9. In November 2013, the Pope dons a red nose with members of the Rainbow Association Marco Iagulli Onlus. The charity uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages.

(Picture Courtesy: Reuters, Getty Images, AP, AFP)