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Pope Francis Facts & Worksheets

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis.

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Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis. He is known for his humility and outspoken support of the world’s poor and marginalized people, and has been involved actively in areas of political diplomacy and environmental advocacy.

See the fact file below for more information on Pope Francis or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Pope Francis worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life and Education

  • Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the man who would eventually become Pope Francis, was born on December 17, 1936 to Italian immigrants Regina Maria Sivori and Mario Jose Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Jorge’s childhood was considerably simple and normal. As a kid, he liked to dance and had a penchant for milonga, the traditional music of Argentina and Uruguay.
  • His early education was completed at Wilfrid Baron de los Santos Angeles. He then attended a technical school where he graduated with a chemical technician diploma. He then chose the path of priesthood, entering the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto.
  • On March 11, 1958, Jorge entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus and two years later, he took his first vows as a Jesuit and his first steps on a lifelong journey dedicated to religion.
  • Education continued to play a significant role in Jorge’s life: after studying humanities in Chile for a year, he went back to Buenos Aires to study philosophy.
  • From 1964 to 1966, he taught literature and psychology in Santa Fe in Argentina, and later at the highly esteemed Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. Jorge also pursued higher studies in theology for three years in Colegio de San Jose, earning his degree in 1967.

Priesthood and Journey to Papacy

  • Jorge was ordained as a Catholic priest on December 13, 1969, by Archbishop Ramon Jose Castellano. He continued his tertianship from 1970 until 1971 in Spain, serving as a novice master and vice chancellor, before taking his perpetual profession as a Jesuit in April 22, 1973. The next years were spent taking on various roles: a superior of Jesuit province of Argentina and Uruguay, professor of Theology, consultant to the Province of the Society of Jesus, and rector of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology at the Colegio Maximo.
  • In March 1986, he finished his doctorate thesis in Germany, after which he was designated as the spiritual director and confessor of the Jesuit Church in the city of Cordoba.
  • Jorge’s next big life event was being appointed as the auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires on May 20, 1992, by Pope John Paul II. He received episcopal ordination from Cardinal Antonio Quarracino a week later.
  • Cardinal Bergoglio continued his duties as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, a diocese that had grown to more than three million in population. He started a missionary project founded on communion and evangelization. He envisioned four main goals: open and brotherly communities, an informed laity playing a lead role, evangelization efforts addressed to every citizen, and assistance to the poor and sick.
  • In September 2009, he initiated a solidarity campaign in celebration of Argentina’s Independence Day bicentenary which aimed to establish 200 charitable institutions across the country by 2016.

Becoming Pope

  • The Papal Conclave was again convened on March 12, 2013, following the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 28. Only one day later, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • He appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis, the pontifical name he took after St. Francis of Assisi, and asked the millions of people gathered outside to bless him, after which he then blessed the world. With his election, Pope Francis became the first Jesuit and non-European Supreme Pontiff, hailing from Latin America.
  • Pope Francis’ papacy has become admired globally because of its foundations on humility and poverty. He broke a tradition that had been upheld by popes for more than a century by choosing to live modestly. He has also earned praise from people of different walks of life because of his liberal sentiments on major social issues about which the Catholic church holds prominent doctrinal views.

The Progressive Pope

  • In early December 2013, Pope Francis gave an apostolic exhortation and called for big changes in the Catholic Church, including rethinking long-held but outdated customs:
    “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security… I do not want a Church concerned with being at the center and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.”
  • Also in the same month, he was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine – having joined the ranks of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII, the only other popes to be awarded the title in 1994 and 1963, respectively.
  • It was revealed in the feature article that the deciding factor that put Pope Francis at the top of the list was his ability to change the opinions of so many people who had given up on the Catholic church in such a short period of time.
  • In 2014 and into 2015, the Supreme Pontiff continued his deep involvement with global scientific, political, and environmental issues. He supported the Big Bang and evolution theories, spoke out against global abuses and misuse of political and economic power, lamented the dangers and losses of life caused by immigration, financial mismanagement within the church itself, and sexual abuse.
  • In his visit to Myanmar in November 2017, amid a humanitarian crisis that had sparked the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the country, the Pope called for tolerance, but stopped short of condemning the persecution, drawing criticism from those who wanted to see a more powerful stance.
  • The Pope continued to stir up the status quo in the Catholic Church with his opinions on women’s issues, when he announced that priests around the world will be allowed to forgive the “sin of abortion” during a “year of mercy”. Pope Francis wrote about this act of compassion, stating:
    “I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision. What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope.”
  • He had also expressed support of breastfeeding in public during the annual Holy Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in 2017, saying that if the babies in attendance were crying because they were hungry, then mothers should feel free to feed them right there as part of the “language of love”.
  • Pope Francis also criticized world leaders for failing to “reach truly meaningful and effective global agreements on the environment”. He emphasized that while improving and protecting the environment will be difficult, the situation is not hopeless and can still be changed. This statement was strongly acknowledged by environmentalists and church believers as it was not directed exclusively to Catholics, but to society in general.
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Pope Francis leaves the Sistine Chapel after being elected pope

Pope Francis Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Pope Francis across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Pope Francis worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Jorge Mario Bergoglio was was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis. He is known for his humility and outspoken support of the world’s poor and marginalized people, and has been involved actively in areas of political diplomacy and environmental advocacy.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Fast Facts
  • Papal Coat of Arms
  • My Coat of Arms
  • Five Finger Prayer
  • Religious Orders
  • A Little Helping Hand
  • The Popes on TIME
  • The Quotable Pope
  • Around the World with Pope Francis
  • Dear Pope Francis

 

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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