Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 21 April, aged 88. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Argentina, was elected the 266th Pope in 2013. The first Jesuit pope, he is considered a rather progressive and popular pope, who appointed women to key positions in the Vatican, who was committed to the environment, migrants and the poorest, and who showed a certain openness on LGBT rights. However, he has remained adamant on abortion and has made little progress on the thorny issue of paedocriminality in the Church.

On several occasions, he called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, without denouncing Russian aggression, which earned him criticism from Western countries. Pope Francis’ funeral will take place on Saturday 26 April in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, in the presence of numerous heads of state. The cardinals will then have to find his successor.

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