A pope of firsts, Francis was an outspoken champion of the deprived – but left some feeling betrayed
His arrival as pontiff heralded a new kind of leadership for the Catholic Church.
Described by some as the people’s pope, Pope Francis showed a willingness to welcome those who’d felt shunned by the Catholic faith, but as a reformer at heart, he also faced huge criticism from conservatives within the church.
The clash between the traditional and the liberal remains the greatest challenge to the legacy he leaves.
He was a pope of firsts: the first Latin American pontiff, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis.
Selected in just over a day by the papal conclave in March 2013, for some, the archbishop from Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was an unexpected choice.
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Jorge Mario Bergoglio as a boy. Undated pic: Rex/Argenpress/Shutterstock
The then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio on the subway in Buenos Aires in 2008. Pic: AP
The cardinals who chose him said he accepted the post with his trademark good humour.
“When the secretary of state toasted to him, he toasted back to us and said ‘I hope God forgives you’,” Cardinal Timothy M Dolan recalled at the time.
That sense of humour and his humility were characteristics which set him apart. He chose not to wear the more ostentatious papal clothing and turned down the traditional Vatican apartments for a more modest residence.
“Francis was not shy at all. He would always say funny things – crack a joke. He would also risk saying things that people in the first moment would be feeling as an insult, but then, when they looked at his cheeky face, they would also laugh,” remembered Professor Felix Koerner SJ, a theologian at Humboldt University in Berlin.
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, the son of Italian immigrants, after school he studied to become a scientist before being drawn to religion.
Spiritual leader to 1.4 billion Catholics, he was a symbolic figurehead on the world stage, meeting monarchs, presidents and prime ministers as he travelled the globe addressing huge crowds everywhere he went.
But while at ease in the presence of the rich and powerful, Pope Francis was never more comfortable than in the company of the poor.
His papal name was selected in honour of St Francis of Assisi for this very reason.
The then priest in 1973. Pic: Rex/Argenpress/Shutterstock
Argentina’s then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio gives a mass outside San Cayetano church in Buenos Aires in 2009. Pic: AP
“Cardinal Bergoglio had a special place in his heart and his ministry for the poor, for the disenfranchised, for those living on the fringes and facing injustice,” Vatican deputy spokesman Thomas Rosica explained.
Throughout his papacy, he was an outspoken champion of the deprived and a defender of those fleeing war and hunger.
Addressing the US Congress in 2015 he said: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, this rule points us in a clear direction; let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves.”
Pope Francis kisses a baby as he arrives for a weekly general audience at the Vatican in October 2019. Pic: Reuters
On his numerous foreign trips, he sought out those in need, not afraid to visit struggling or violent areas.
In 2016, he washed the feet of refugees from various religious backgrounds at a migrant centre in a “gesture of humility and service”.
From climate change to the balance of wealth in the world, Pope Francis was not afraid to make his views known.
In 2015, he wrote Laudato Si (Praised Be), a major document on the need to protect the environment, calling the climate crisis a moral issue.
Addressing a congregation in 2023, he said: “We must side with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, working to put an end to the senseless war against our common home.”
Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2015, the first pontiff to do so. Pic: AP
President Obama and Pope Francis. Pic: AP
Pope Francis with Donald Trump at the Vatican in May 2017. Pic: Reuters
He was widely praised for his commitment to interfaith dialogue and was instrumental in an agreement between the Catholic Church and Islamic faiths.
In February 2019, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, signed the Document On Human Fraternity For World Peace And Living Together.
He was also the first ever pope to travel to Iraq in 2021, an attempt to build bridges between different communities.
But it was his acceptance of the LGBTQ community that was unprecedented.
It began with an unexpected remark to reporters on a flight back from Brazil about gay clergy.
He said: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?”
He later declared homosexuality was not a crime, part of his mission to make the Catholic Church more welcoming.
Francis with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October 2024. Pic: Vatican via Reuters
Pope Francis with the King (then Prince Charles) in 2019. Pic: Vatican via Reuters
“He was great in building relations and in risking being provocative to people. So he will remain in our memories a pope challenging people to live like Christ in simplicity,” said Professor Koerner.
However, events in later years left some feeling betrayed, for example, a landmark declaration allowing clerical blessings for same-sex couples was diluted.
In April 2024, he appeared to reiterate the Vatican‘s staunch opposition to gender reassignment, surrogacy, abortion and euthanasia, by signing the text “Dignitas Infinita” (Infinite Dignity).
In the same year, his own liberal credentials were questioned after reports he used a homophobic slur behind closed doors.
But despite that, others continued to insist he was still going too far with his progressive social views, and steering the Catholic Church away from more traditional values.
For the first time in six centuries, Francis had taken over from a living pope when Pope Benedict XVI stepped down due to his health in 2013.
Pope Francis with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Pope Francis presiding over the funeral of his predecessor
His new tone compared to his predecessor, and efforts to reform, would set him on a collision course with his critics for going too far on both finances and policy.
Some would argue the opposition severely hampered his ability to go further with reforms around the involvement of women and the gay community.
Ruth Gledhill, assistant editor of The Tablet, said Pope Francis “did go to war with the conservative traditionalist side of the church. And it could be argued that it wasn’t entirely an effective battle or entirely a wise battle in some respects.
“I think what people will have to accept is even now in today’s world where everything happens so quickly, in the Catholic Church still, nothing happens fast.”
Claims of abuse within the church both in the past and present were a constant shadow for Pope Francis.
In 2018, he travelled to Ireland and apologised for the “crimes” committed by the church.
Pope Francis visiting Phoenix Park in Dublin in 2018. Pic: AP
The victims included the tens of thousands of Irish children sexually and physically abused at Catholic churches, schools and workhouses, and the women who were forced to live and work in laundries and give up their children if they got pregnant out of wedlock.
“We ask forgiveness for those members of the hierarchy who didn’t take responsibility for this painful situation, and who kept silence,” Francis said to a crowd of 300,000 in Dublin.
“May the Lord keep this state of shame and compunction and give us strength so this never happens again, and that there is justice.”
In 2019, he issued a landmark decree making it obligatory for all priests and members of religious orders to report any suspicions of abuse, and holding bishops directly accountable for any attacks they commit or cover-up.
Pope Francis met Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2014. Pic: AP
In 2023, he extended the sex abuse rules to include lay leaders.
But some still feel not enough was done to root out the problem and hold to account known abusers.
Luke Coppen, senior correspondent at the Catholic website The Pillar, said: “Opinions differ about how successful he was or how much attention he paid to it. He certainly took several steps to combat that evil on a global scale. But critics again said that he didn’t do enough.”
Occasionally, during his time as pontiff, his temper frayed when he was in pain from illness or overwhelmed by an overexcited crowd.
In 2016, he scolded a person who pulled him down in Mexico, and in 2020 slapped the hand of a woman who refused to let go of his arm.
For many this only made him more human.
On 21 February 2001, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elevated to cardinal by Pope John Paul II with the title of cardinal priest of San Roberto Bellarmino
At the time of his election, he also faced questions over whether he stayed silent about human rights abuses carried out by Argentina’s dictatorship while he lived there.
Critics alleged he failed to protect priests who challenged the junta earlier in his career, during the ‘dirty war’ between 1976 and 1983, and that he has said too little about the complicity of the church during military rule.
The Vatican strongly denied the accusations.
In his final years, increasing health issues meant more frequent hospital stays and more events cancelled, but even when sick, Francis continued to put others before himself to show the church was more open than before.
For example, while receiving treatment in hospital in 2023 he took time to visit ill children, baptise a baby and comfort mourning parents.
In 2024, he also invited 200 comedians to an audience at the Vatican and a year later appointed the first woman, Sister Simona Brambilla, to head up a major Vatican office.
In 2025, Pope Francis underwent a prolonged stay in hospital after being admitted on 14 February for respiratory issues that developed into double pneumonia.
He spent 38 days there – the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy.
But he emerged on Easter Sunday, his last public appearance a day before his death, to bless thousands in St Peter’s Square after meeting with US vice president JD Vance.
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Pope blesses Easter crowds day before his death
Announcing his death on Easter Monday, Cardinal Farrell of the Vatican said: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
“At 7.35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalised.
“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
Bells tolled in church towers across Rome after the announcement of his passing.
As Catholics now mourn his passing, it is his humanity that Pope Francis will be remembered for; a pope of the people, never happier than when he was among them.
World
Israel says first hostages handed to Red Cross as Palestinian prisoners also expected to be released
Israel says Hamas has handed over the first seven hostages to the Red Cross to be released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The remaining Israeli hostages are being released by Hamas after being held in Gaza for more than two years, in exchange for over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The Red Cross will drive the hostages to Israeli security forces, who will take them into Israel, where they will be reunited with family and flown by helicopter to hospitals.
Follow the latest updates here
Red Cross vehicles and buses in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the transfers at public screenings across the country.
The families and friends of hostages broke out into cheers as Israeli TV channels announced the hostages were in the hands of the Red Cross.
Israel previously said that of the 251 initially taken captive in Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, 20 of the hostages that remained in Gaza were thought to be alive, 26 were presumed dead, and the fate of two was unknown.
The 20 hostages are all men aged between 20 and 48, who have spent more than two years in captivity.
As part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump‘s ceasefire agreement, Hamas was given 72 hours to release all the Israeli hostages, alive and dead.
The agreed ceasefire started at midday local time (10am UK time) on Friday, with tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians moving back towards northern Gaza, which was mostly destroyed by Israel.
Read more:
Inside rooms where hostages will spend first nights of freedom
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Who are the hostages to be freed?
Hamas has released a list of the 20 living hostages it will free. Tap on their pictures to read more about them:
Once all the hostages are released, Israel is expected to free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after the 7 October attacks.
A second phase of the plan, which all sides have yet to agree on, could see Israeli troops further withdrawing from Gaza.
Trump says ‘war is over’
Mr Trump boarded Air Force One in Washington on Sunday to fly to Israel.
“The war is over,” he said. Asked about prospects for the region, he added: “I think it’s going to normalise.”
The US president will receive a hero’s welcome when he addresses Israel’s parliament on Monday. He will be awarded Israel’s highest civilian honour later this year, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave, killing more than 67,000, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of those killed were women and children.
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A teddy sits on a bed in a bright hospital room. Beside it is a small fridge stocked with bottled water and Coca-Cola.
While the bear might make you think a child is about to arrive, this room will soon be welcoming one of the 20 Israeli hostages believed to be alive in Gaza.
With phase one of Donald Trump’s peace plan now under way, an entire nation is holding its breath for the return of the hostages, not least the medical teams preparing to receive them.
Gaza latest: Israel prepares for hostages’ release
Sky News was given special access to one of the teams in the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, a city north-east of Tel Aviv.
It was sobering and emotional, but also inspiring, talking to its doctors and nurses as they showed us around what one calls the “homecoming unit”.
A welcome sign and Israeli flag greet the returning hostages
Director of Nursing Dr Michal Steinman took us into the light airy rooms where hostages will be allowed to recover at their own speed in private, choosing when and for how long they emerge, slowly reengaging with a world they’ve not known for two years.
She explained that each of the hostages – who are all men – will be given their own private room, where a gift basket filled with thoughtful items such as a teddy, a blanket, slippers and a phone charger awaits them.
The teddy is there to help bring comfort to the freed captives.
“Our research says each one of us has a child inside,” Dr Steinman told me. “We need something to pet and feel soft, and reassure them after the lack of senses for such a long time.”
Phones, she said, will be provided by the army.
Read more:
The hostages believed to be alive
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The bear is one of many small touches added to bring the hostages comfort in the coming days
The families will also bring items from home to make the area feel more familiar to their loved ones as they slowly adjust to freedom.
The men will also have access to other areas, including a private living space where they can spend time with loved ones or greet any visiting dignitaries. Their families will also be provided with rooms to stay in, as well as an area for the children of the hostages when they visit.
Medical equipment is kept in dedicated treatment rooms as part of an effort to make the rooms feel more like accommodation than a hospital.
One of the areas where family members can wait for their loved ones who have been in captivity to arrive
While the unit is pristine and ready for the new arrivals, it has previously been used to house other hostages released by Hamas.
Staff shared anecdotes revealing what may lie ahead. Dr Steinman told us of one released hostage who had had trouble not with sleeping, but with waking up.
“When I opened my eyes,” they had told her, “I was thinking that I’m still in a dream because there’s no way that I opened my eyes and I’m not in the tunnel. I thought, ‘it’s a dream inside a dream’.”
The hostages, she said, “can’t believe for the first moments they’re not in other place.”
A living space for the men and their families to relax in
Dr Steinman found another freed captive “stuck” and standing still after opening the refrigerator.
“I told him, ‘It’s hard for you to choose?’,” she explained. “And he said, ‘I’m just amazed at the colours. All I’ve seen for 100 days is black, white and brown’.”
The professor reinventing ‘hostage medicine’
For the head of the centre, Professor Noa Eliakim-Raz, and her team, the return of the hostages will be the culmination of two years of painstaking work.
They have effectively reinvented what they call ‘hostage medicine’, learning from the treatment of groups of hostages received during this war.
Professor Noa Eliakim-Raz tells me she has been ready for this moment for a long time
She is a serious and dedicated clinician. With professional precision, she told me of the challenges ahead, including the life-threatening risks of mistreating malnourished hostages held for so long underground.
Then she gave us a glimpse into the human side of their work.
“All the team, we’ve prepared for so long, I mean really, we’ve been in this for two years and all the time, we’re preparing and ready,” she said. “This ward that you saw is ready every day.”
How does she feel as the hostages’ arrival draws near?
“I feel very grateful, and I think that’s the strongest emotion, to be part of this,” she said.
Clearly moved, Professor Noa had to pause and collect her emotions, her eyes welling up when asked what she’d be thankful for most.
“I think being part of a small step,” she began, before pausing again. “A small step of making them feel hugged again and trusting the system.”
It will, she said, be a big relief when it’s over.
Professor Noa is writing a first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary protocol for treating long-term hostages, literally rewriting the book on how to return them to normality.
Her department did not exist before October 7. In the two years since its inception, it has pioneered a form of treatment involving many different disciplines to maximise the chances of recovery.
The Rabin Medical Center’s staff believe the lessons they’ve learned will benefit doctors around the world in future.
But they hope never to have to use them on Israelis again.
Drones have been a common sight in Gaza for a long time, but they have always been military.
The whine of a drone is enough to trigger fear in many within the enclave.
But now, drones are delivering something different – long, lingering footage of the devastation that has been wreaked on Gaza. And the images are quite staggering.
Gaza latest: Chants of ‘thank you Trump’ in Hostages Square
Whole city blocks reduced to rubble. Streets destroyed. Towns where the landscape has been wholly redesigned.
Whole city blocks reduced to rubble
Decapitated tower blocks and whole areas turned into black and white photographs, where there is no colour but only a palette of greys – from the dark hues of scorched walls to the lightest grey of the dust that floats through the air.
And everywhere, the indistinct dull grey of rubble – the debris of things that are no longer there.
Gaza is full of people returning to their homes
The joy that met the ceasefire has now changed into degrees of anxiety and shock.
Gaza is full of people who are returning to their homes and hoping for good news. For a lucky few, fortune is kind, but for most, the news is bad.
Umm Firas has been displaced from her home in Khan Younis for the past five months. She returned today to the district she knew so well. And what she found was nothing.
Umm Firas returned to find nothing
“This morning we returned to our land, to see our homes, the neighbourhoods where we once lived,” she says.
“But we found no trace of any houses, no streets, no neighbourhoods, no trees. Even the crops, even the trees – all of them had been bulldozed. The entire area has been destroyed.
“There used to be more than 1,750 houses in the block where we lived, but now not a single one remains standing. Every neighbourhood is destroyed, every home is destroyed, every school is destroyed, every tree is destroyed. The area is unliveable.
“There’s no infrastructure, no place where we can even set up a tent to sit in. Our area, in downtown Khan Younis used to be densely populated. Our homes were built right next to each other. Now there is literally nowhere to go.
“Where can we go? We can’t even find an empty spot to pitch our tent over the ruins of our own homes. So we are going to have to stay homeless and displaced.”
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It is a story that comes up again and again. One man says that he cannot even reach his house because it is still too near the Israeli military officers stationed in the area.
Another, an older man whose bright pink glasses obscure weary eyes, says there is “nothing left” of his home “so we are leaving it to God”.
“I’m glad we survived and are in good health,” he says, “and now we can return there even if it means we need to eat sand!”
A man says there is ‘nothing left’
A bulldozer moves rubble
The bulldozers have already started work across the strip, trying to clear roads and allow access. Debris is being piled into huge piles, but this is a tiny sticking plaster on a huge wound.
The more you see of Gaza, the more impossible the task seems of rebuilding this place. The devastation is so utterly overwhelming.
Bodies are being found in the rubble while towns are full of buildings that have been so badly damaged they will have to be pulled down.
Humanitarian aid is needed urgently, but, for the moment, the entry points remain closed. Charities are pleading for access.
It is, of course, better for people to live without war than with it. Peace in Gaza gifts the ability to sleep a little better and worry a little less. But when people do wake up, what they see is an apocalyptic landscape of catastrophic destruction.
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