Pope FrancisPope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires on December 1936, has been the Bishop of Rome and 266th Pope of the Catholic Church from March 2013 to April 2025. On the 13th of March 2015 he decided to give a decisive turn to his papacy by nnouncing the Holy Year of Mercy that began on December 8th 2015, which is celebrated in his first book as Pope, The Name of God is Mercy, written in conversation with Vatican expert and La Stampa journalist Andrea Tornielli. Read More Read Less