Pope Francis, the first-ever Latin American pontiff, died on Monday, April 22. He was battling chronic lung disease and was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for 38 days starting February 14. He appeared at Easter against the doctor's orders.Jorge Mario Bergoglio is known for his humility and humanitarian acts across the world. Pope Francis was elected to succeed the resigning Pope Benedict on March 13, 2013. He was the first to break multiple Catholic stereotypes and stigmas and was a revolutionary in doing so. Pope Francis was also the first to truly embrace the "who am I to judge?" mindset and fuse it into the Catholic mentality. He raised his voice and spoke out for justice and peace.His term did not come without criticism, though. He was accused of straying too far from Christian tradition and bashed for questioning victims of abuse. Francis met this criticism not with confrontation but silence. Pope Francis will forever be remembered by the Catholic world, whether it be by the conservatives for his deviation from traditional Christianity or by progressives for embracing new norms in Catholicism.
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00:00Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff who won hearts with his humility and focus on the poor but drew criticism from conservatives for challenging capitalism and climate change denial, has died aged 88.
00:17He had been battling chronic lung disease and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on February 14th for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia.
00:27He spent 38 days there, the longest hospital stay of his 12-year papacy.
00:34I just read it. One of my friends texted me and she texted me, do you know that the Pope just died?
00:42And I said, really? And then I sort of checked it and I saw, I was sort of really, really shocked because I was here yesterday at mass.
00:53And I saw the Pope and he looked just so fragile.
00:59And I'm really shocked and there's a sort of inquired buzz now around here.
01:08I think, you know, at the end of the Santa Semana, for the pilgrims that are here, but most of all for the Pope himself.
01:17From his first words, a simple Buonasera, to his embrace of refugees and the marginalised, Pope Francis set a humble reformist stone for a church facing scandal and decline.
01:29The feast and the slant speak.
01:31Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Pope Francis was elected the 266th Pontiff on March 13, 2013, following the surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
01:44He quickly became a symbol of change in the Catholic Church, setting a new tone with his humility, progressive vision and global outreach.
01:53He was by training a Jesuit and single-minded, very focused in what he decided, man of prayer, man of faith.
02:03His big concern was to help the poor, those who are marginalised.
02:09That's why he spoke about refugees, migrants, he very strongly defended their rights and the need of people to accept them.
02:20He even spoke to heads of government and he made a difference in the whole perception I could see of leaders in Europe about towards migrants.
02:29It is a sad news, sad news for the whole church, for the universal church, but at the same time it is a moment of giving thanks to God.
02:43God has led the church for the last almost 12 years now with the leadership of this great man, a man of God.
03:02And that's why it is also a moment for the church to thank God.
03:05But Pope Francis also faced criticism, especially from conservatives, over his progressive views, outreach to LGBTQ plus Catholics and efforts to rein in traditionalists.
03:18His greatest crisis came in 2018 when he mishandled a major clergy sex abuse case in Chile, reigniting a decades old scandal that had long plagued the church.
03:30He later admitted to making grave mistakes and publicly apologised to the victims.
03:38Then came the COVID-19 pandemic.
03:41From a lockdown Vatican, Pope Francis led the church through unchartered territory, urging the world to use the crisis to rethink systems that he said deepened global inequality.
03:52As the leader of the church, he has stood firm in rereading the gospel, trying to find out Jesus and his approaches towards human beings.
04:20Human beings, especially focusing on those who are really sidelined and marginalised.
04:31For a common man, he is a leader of excellence, especially speaking for justice and peace.
04:41While many hailed his emphasis on mercy, inclusion and social justice, others feared he was straying too far from church tradition, with some critics even accusing him of heresy.
04:53As pushback mounted, Pope Francis often met it not with confrontation but with silence.