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The Bigger Picture: Vale, Franciscus
New Zealand Listener
Pope Francis, pictured here praying at the end of a courtyard service in the Vatican on September 30, 2020, died on Easter Monday, aged 88.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, he became both the first Jesuit and the first Latin American to be elected leader of the world’s Catholics.
During his 12-year papacy, Francis was recognised for his humanitarian work and championing of the marginalised, and his efforts to modernise the church.
In his will, he asked to be buried at the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome, in a simple, unadorned tomb with the single inscription, “Franciscus”.