The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday, in front of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Preparations have begun for the conclave, the process by which cardinals will elect the next Pope.

The Pope's body is lying in state inside St Peter's Basilica.

Tens of thousands of mourners have queued to say a final goodbye before his funeral takes place on Saturday, at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST).

Papal funerals have historically been very elaborate, but the instructions set out by Francis are much simpler.

He will be the first Pope in more than a century not to be buried inside the Vatican. Instead, he will be laid to rest in Rome's Basilica of St Mary Major.

Francis asked to be buried in a simple wooden casket lined with zinc - unlike his predecessors, who were buried in three nesting coffins made of cypress, lead and oak.

The service will be led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. Patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will also take part.

After a concluding prayer formally entrusting the Pope to God, the pontiff's body will be moved to St Mary Major for the burial.

A nine-day mourning period will then begin.

Dozens of world leaders and thousands of worshippers will be at the funeral.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and French President Emmanuel Macron have said they will attend, as has Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Francis's home country. The Prince of Wales will represent King Charles.

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Pope Francis died on Easter Monday aged 88, following a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure.

The death was confirmed and announced by the Pope's "camerlengo", or chamberlain - currently Irish-American cardinal Kevin Farrell.

The camerlengo manages the various procedures and rites which follow the death of a Pope.

As part of this, Cardinal Farrell locked and sealed the Pope's home, and destroyed the Pope's ring and lead seal, which is used to authenticate official documents.

The camerlengo also organises the conclave to elect the new pope.

They can become pope, but this has only happened twice: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939.

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The new Pope is elected by the cardinals - all men who were appointed by the Pope and are usually ordained bishops.

There are currently 252 Catholic cardinals, but only 135 can cast ballots as those over the age of 80 can take part in debate but cannot vote.

Traditionally the conclave doesn't start until after a 15-day mourning period.

However, in 2013, Francis's predecessor Benedict changed the rules to allow it to begin earlier if the cardinals wished.

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During the voting period, the cardinals are cut off from the outside world – denied phones and access to the internet or newspapers.

They sleep in Casa Santa Marta, a five-story guesthouse within the Vatican complex.

The election is held in strict secrecy inside the Sistine Chapel, famously painted by Michelangelo.

Each cardinal votes for the candidate they wish to become Pope. They can vote for themselves if they wish.

A new Pope is elected when a candidate has secured the support of 90 cardinals - which can take several rounds of voting.

In previous centuries, conclaves have gone on for weeks or months. Some cardinals have even died during the process.

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To the outside world, the only information about how the conclave is progressing is smoke from the chapel's chimney when ballot papers are burned after each round of voting.

Black smoke signals failure. White smoke means a new Pope has been chosen.

The new Pope normally appears on the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square within an hour of his selection.

The senior cardinal confirms the decision with the words "Habemus Papam" - Latin for "we have a Pope" - and introduces the new pontiff by his chosen papal name.

For example, Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but chose his papal name to honour St Francis of Assisi.

In theory, any Roman Catholic man who has been baptised can be considered.

In practice, however, the cardinals prefer to select one of their own.

In 2013, Francis became the first pontiff to hail from Latin America - a region that accounts for around 28% of the world's Catholics - and the southern hemisphere.

Historical precedent suggests the cardinals are far more likely to pick a European. Of the 266 popes chosen to date, 217 have been from Italy.

Several Vatican analysts have suggested Francis's successor could come from outside Europe - not least because the late Pope appointed more than 140 cardinals from beyond the continent.

The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and is an important source of authority for the world's roughly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.

They believe the Pope represents a direct line back to Jesus Christ. He is considered a living successor to St Peter, who was chief among Christ's initial disciples, the Apostles.

About half of all Christians worldwide are Roman Catholics. Other denominations, including Protestants and Orthodox Christians, do not recognise the Pope's authority.

The Pope lives in Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world. It is surrounded by the Italian capital, Rome.

The Pope does not receive a salary, but all his travel costs and living expenses are paid for by the Vatican.

Pope Francis's funeral will take place on Saturday in St Peter's Square, the Vatican has confirmed, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend.

The head of the Catholic Church died of a stroke on Monday, aged 88, less than 24 hours after leading an Easter address. He had been in poor health after recently battling double pneumonia.

A host of world leaders and royals - including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, home to the biggest Catholic population in the world - have confirmed their attendance.

Thousands of mourners have already flocked to Vatican City, carrying flowers, crosses and candles and reciting prayers.

On Tuesday, the Vatican released further details of the Pope's final 24 hours.

Francis, who had recently spent five weeks in hospital, was slightly apprehensive about appearing on the balcony on Sunday.

"Do you think I can do this?" the Pope asked his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti.

Strappetti reassured him and moments later the pontiff appeared on the balcony, blessing the crowd gathered in St Peter's Square below.

The following morning at around 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Francis began to feel unwell. An hour later, he waved at Strappetti before slipping into a coma.

"Those who were near him in those moments say he didn't suffer," the Vatican said in a statement. "It was a discreet death."

On Wednesday morning, Pope Francis's body will be taken in a procession led by cardinals from the Chapel of Santa Marta to St Peter's Basilica, where he will remain in an open coffin until Friday to allow mourners to pay their respects.

Just before the procession, a moment of prayer will be led by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican in the wake of the Pope's death.

The Vatican has released photos of the Pope's body lying in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta - his residence during his 12-year papacy - dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand.

The general public will be able to visit St Peter's Basilica from 11:00 to midnight on Wednesday, 07:00 to midnight on Thursday and 07:00 to 19:00 on Friday.

Bucking tradition, there will be no private viewing for cardinals, at Pope Francis's request. The Pope's coffin will also not be raised on a pedestal.

The funeral will start at 10:00 in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica.

Patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from across the globe will take part. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service.

Cardinal Battista Re will deliver the final commendation and valediction - a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God - and the pontiff's body will be moved to St Mary Major for the burial.

A nine-day mourning period, known as Novemdiales, then begins.

Huge crowds are anticipated on Saturday, with as many as 250,000 people expected to attend the funeral.

Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, US President Donald Trump, Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Other political figures who have announced they will attend include:

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
• Polish President Andrzej Duda
• EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
• Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, Francis's home country
• British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Pope Francis, who famously eschewed some of the pomp of the papacy during his life, will continue to break with tradition in death.

Historically, popes are buried in triple coffins in marble tombs inside St Peter's Basilica at the heart of the Vatican. Pope Francis requested that he instead be buried at Rome's Basilica of St Mary Major.

He will become the first pope in more than 100 years to be laid to rest outside the Vatican.

In his final testament, Pope Francis also asked to be buried "in the earth, simple, without particular decoration" and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

His body was moved into the Santa Marta chapel on Monday evening, and his apartment formally sealed, the Vatican said.

Following the funeral, a conclave of cardinals will convene to elect a successor.

The dean of the College of Cardinals has 15 to 20 days to summon the cardinals to Rome once the Pope is buried.

Several names have already been floated as potential successors, with more likely to emerge in the coming days.

Tens of thousands of mourners have lined up for a chance to pay their respects to Pope Francis, whose body has been displayed in an open coffin in St Peter's Basilica.

On Wednesday morning, as many as 20,000 people gathered to witness red-robed cardinals and white-clad priests escort the coffin from the Pope's personal residence.

Bells tolled during the 40-minute procession, while the crowd broke into applause - a traditional Italian sign of respect.

Nine days of mourning will be observed in the Vatican, while the Pope's funeral will be held on Saturday.

The 88-year-old died on Monday after suffering a stroke. He had spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year with double pneumonia.

Francis was the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church and held the role for 12 years.

His body will lie in state in the church until Friday evening. Public viewing began at 11:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Wednesday.

Swiss Guards, who are responsible for the Pope's safety, escorted his coffin to the church's altar.

Soon after the event began, the queue was already eight hours long, according to Italian media. By mid-afternoon, tens of thousands of people were lining the square.

The Vatican said it was considering extending the church's opening time beyond midnight due to the number of people waiting.

The church had been due to close at midnight local time on Wednesday and Thursday and at 19:00 on Friday, before the coffin is sealed.

Luis and Macarena, from Mexico, had come to Rome for their honeymoon and hoped to see the Pope, who gives a special blessing to newlyweds. Luis told the BBC seeing the Pope's final resting place would allow them to feel a connection.

"Pope Francis is a saint and he will bless us from heaven," Luis said.

Mary Ellen, an American who lives in Italy, said she had come to the Vatican on an overnight train to "say goodbye".

"I love Papa Francesco," she said. "Because he's humble, kind, he loves immigrants. I know he's put up with a lot of difficult things in the Vatican. He's fought against power and the power of the Vatican to be a true Christian, true Catholic."

She said when she passes the coffin, she will be praying and will ask Pope Francis for help with her own work with immigrants.

Inside St Peter's, under the watchful marble eye of popes and saints, a steady stream of people made their way to the Pope's casket to pay their respects.

Some kneeled while others prayed and crossed themselves, before slowly moving on.

Many lingered to admire the staggering beauty of the basilica. The atmosphere was quiet and solemn despite the thousands of people present.

Two women who waited for five hours to see the Pope said they had arrived at the basilica's queue at 09:00.

One told the BBC it was important to her to say goodbye to the pontiff.

"All these years I followed all he did and it's as if I travelled all over the world with him, even if I was just at home. He liked going everywhere and prioritises the poor," she said.

Asked what was it like to see him in his coffin, she replied: "It's just like the man we used to see on TV."

Fredrik, who is from Ghana but travelled from Poland, said the Pope had "done his best" and "it is left to us to continue the good works".

Eva Asensio, a Mexican on holiday in Italy, said she felt an affinity for the Argentine pope.

"We saw him as a good Pope – someone who supported everyone, no matter your sexual orientation, no matter where you came from. He united us," she said with tears in her eyes.

Margaux, who is French and lives in Rome, said it was "powerful to live this."

To her, Pope Francis meant "hope", and his more progressive social views were "very important", she said.

"I hope the next Pope will follow his path," she said.

Dignitaries from all over the world, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William, will attend the funeral on Saturday.

Pope Francis left clear instructions that he wanted a smaller ceremony in keeping with his simpler tastes as pontiff. He had arranged for a benefactor to pay for it all.

Unlike the vast majority of his predecessors, he will not be buried in St Peter's, but in a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in central Rome, beneath a tombstone inscribed only with his name.

Before being moved to St Peter's, Pope Francis had been lying in an open coffin in the chapel of his home, flanked by Swiss Guards and cardinals in prayer.

His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, during which he delivered brief remarks to the masses gathered in St Peter's Square from a wheelchair.

He then greeted worshippers and blessed babies as he was driven in a car through the crowds.

His Papal apartments have been sealed, marking the start of the period known as the Sede Vacante - or empty seat – which continues until a new head of the church is elected.

Additional reporting by Jorge Perez

At midday on Monday, church bells across Italy began to toll. Pope Francis was dead.

Not even 24 hours had passed since he had made a surprise appearance on the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square, blessing the 35,000 people gathered to celebrate Easter at the Vatican.

The Pope was breathing on his own, without oxygen tubes, despite being told by his doctors to spend two months convalescing after 38 days in hospital with double pneumonia.

Over the past two weeks Francis had done what he had always done, received visitors and met people from every walk of life.

When he appeared on Easter Sunday, the crowd below erupted in cheers as he appeared; then it fell silent.

"Dear brothers and sisters, I wish you a happy Easter," he said, his voice heavy with effort.

They were to be his final words in public.

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"I think people could feel something - as if they could tell it was the last time they'd see him," said Mauro, a Rome resident who was in St Peter's Square for Easter Mass and had now returned to pay his respects.

"Usually everyone shouts 'Long live the Pope!'… this time it was much quieter than usual, there was maybe more respect for his suffering."

"He blessed us but his voice was a husk," a man called Alberto told the BBC. "I think he was giving us his last goodbye."

Doctors who treated Francis at Rome's Gemelli hospital had prescribed a regimen of complete rest – but it was never likely that a typically active Pope who spent much of his papacy meeting people would keep to that.

Francis had already made it clear he wanted to be back in the Vatican in time for Easter, as soon as the specialists treating him explained that his health issues would not be resolved quickly.

For Christians, Easter is even more important than Christmas as it symbolises a core tenet of their faith - the resurrection of Christ, three days after his nailing to the cross.

Before he was discharged on 23 March, Francis waved to crowds from the hospital too, and then headed back to his quarters in the Casa Santa Marta guest house he had made his home.

His medical team said all he needed was oxygen, and convalescing there was better than hospital with all its infections.

Easter was just three weeks away and, as it approached, the Pope's schedule became increasingly busy.

He met King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Casa San Marta and then appeared on the Vatican balcony for Palm Sunday four days later on 13 April, mingling with a crowd of 20,000 people in St Peter's Square, against doctors' advice.

But for the Pope, Easter was most important time of all.

Last Thursday, as he had done many times previously and as he used to do in his native Argentina before becoming Pope, he made a visit to the Regina Coeli jail in Rome where he spent half an hour meeting prisoners and he was greeted by applause from staff and guards as he arrived in a wheelchair.

In previous years he had washed inmates' feet, mirroring what Jesus is said to have done with his disciples the night before his death.

"This year I'm unable to do that, but I can and want to still be near you," he said in a feeble voice to the dozens of prisoners who had come to see him, and who cheered him on as he toured the jail.

"We are so lucky. Those on the outside don't get to see him and we do," one man told Italian media.

As he was leaving the prison, Francis was asked by a journalist how he would experience Easter this year.

"Whichever way I can," he replied.

And, on Sunday, he kept his promise.

He held a short meeting with US Vice-President JD Vance before appearing before the crowds in St Peter's Square as the crowd below erupted in cheers.

He made his final blessing - the Urbi et Orbi address in Latin, meaning "to the city and to the world". Then, Archbishop Diego Ravelli read out a speech written by the Pope as Francis sat silently beside him.

Then, to everyone's surprise, he descended down to St Peter's Square, where he was driven around in an open-top popemobile – the distinctive little white Mercedes-Benz used by popes to meet crowds.

A camera followed him around as he raised his arm to bless the faithful lining the sunny square, and a few babies were brought up closer to him. It was the last time the world saw him alive.

Watching Francis's blessing on Sunday, Alberto from Rome felt he would not last much longer, although the Pope's death still came as a shock.

"I didn't feel happy seeing him, I could tell he was in pain," he said. "But it was an honour to see him one last time."

Francis died early on Monday in his beloved Casa Santa Marta – a residenceof 100-odd simple rooms, run by nuns and open to pilgrims and visitors.

A little over two hours later, the cardinal chamberlain, or camerlengo, stood in the Casa Santa Marta and made the news public.

The Vatican said on Monday evening he had died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure.

The Pope's rooms were a far cry from the opulence of the Vatican quarters typically destined to pontiffs, which Francis had turned down at the start of his papacy saying he felt the need to "live among people".

"If I lived by myself, maybe even a bit in isolation, it would be of no use to me," he said back then.

In the coming days, cardinals from across the world will be staying at Casa Santa Marta as they gather in Rome for the conclave that will choose Francis' successor.

Outside, in the bright sunshine in St Peter's Square, people mingled with priests and friars under the imposing basilica.

A group of nuns clad in grey and white glared at a man who, headphones in, was dancing around the square. "No respect," they tutted.

The same large screens that broadcast the Pope's blessing for Easter now displayed a photo of Francis smiling and a notice that a special rosary was being held for him 12 hours after his death.

It would allow Catholics near and far to pray for their Pope – and thank him for celebrating one last Easter with them.

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When the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, left Argentina's capital to participate in the Vatican conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor, he did not know it would be the last time he would see his hometown.

The fact that Pope Francis never returned to his country after becoming the pontiff left some Argentines with a heavy heart.

Speaking on Monday, Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva said his parish were "orphans of a father who profoundly loved his country and had to learn to become the father of the whole world".

He also added that Francis becoming Pope "cost us as Argentines a little bit... Bergoglio left us to become Francis".

It came as a surprise to many – including Bergoglio himself – that he was elected to the highest office in the Catholic Church in the first place.

At 76 years old at the time - one year older than the typical age of bishops and cardinals when they submit their resignation to the pope - he was not seen as a real candidate to fill the vacancy, according to analysts.

"When he left Buenos Aires for the conclave, he seemed somewhat sad; he was getting ready to retire in a room at the Priests' Home in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Flores," Guillermo Marcó, a priest from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, told Argentine newspaper Clarín.

However, Bergoglio would soon begin a papacy that lasted 12 years.

His death has been particularly keenly felt in his home country, where seven days of national mourning have been declared - as Argentina grieves a man many regarded as simple and humble, despite holding one of the most powerful offices in the world.

Those qualities were praised by Elenir Ramazol, a nun who spoke to BBC Mundo during a vigil at the Buenos Aires cathedral on Monday.

The fact he did not return to his homeland was "a sign of the total commitment he made to the whole Church, not just to his people, to his country", Ms Ramazol said.

Gustavo Vera exchanged hundreds of letters with Francis, having become friends with him when he was still archbishop. He agreed that the pontiff always showed an enduring interest in what was happening in his home country.

"Sometimes he commented on soccer, sometimes on tango, sometimes on cultural events," Mr Vera, the leader of La Alameda, an Argentine anti-trafficking and slavery organisation, said. Francis followed Argentine news "in detail", he added.

During his papacy, Francis visited four of the five countries that border Argentina - but never his home country, despite continuing to take a keen interest in it.

He was loved by many there who now mourn him, but others remember him as a controversial figure.

The initial pride felt by most Argentines after the announcement that a fellow countryman would be the first Latin American pope gave way to disenchantment among some over the years.

A Pew Research Center survey suggested that the proportion of people who held a positive view of the pontiff fell from 91% in 2013 to 64% in 2024.

Of six Latin American countries surveyed, the largest drop in favourable attitudes was recorded in Argentina.

Conservatives in Argentina accused him of undermining historical traditions they held sacred, while reformers hoped for more profound changes.

Critics felt he failed to do enough to oppose the country's brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s and to criticise the complicity of some figures in the Church.

Every time he was asked about a possible trip, Pope Francis gave vague answers.

"I would like to go. It's my people, but it hasn't been planned yet. There are several things to sort out first," he said the last time he was publicly asked about the subject, in September 2024.

Some fellow Argentines found this hesitation difficult to understand.

The pontiff's absence has been felt more acutely in recent years, as Argentina has endured a profound economic crisis, with annual inflation reaching nearly 300% and a sharp increase in poverty.

Mr Vera suggests that Francis was planning to visit, but had not yet done so because he wanted to avoid his presence being used for political purposes.

"He always used to say he would go to Argentina when he felt that he was an instrument to bring about national unity, to help overcome the rift, to try to bring Argentines back together," Mr Vera said.

The "rift" refers to the vast, decades-long gulf in Argentine politics and society between supporters and opponents of the populist political movement Peronism, founded by late President Juan Perón in the 1940s.

There is a widespread belief in the country that Pope Francis was a Peronist - something he denied in a book in 2023, while adding: "If we had a Peronist conception of politics, what would be wrong with that?"

The comment was seized upon by conservative detractors who accused him of being too closely aligned with social justice causes and left-wing politics.

Before taking office, Javier Milei, the current president who has demonised left-wing politics, even called Pope Francis "the representation of evil on Earth" - although he softened his tone after coming to power.

The two had a cordial meeting in the Vatican and President Milei officially invited the pontiff to Argentina. And following the Pope's death, Milei said he was deeply pained by his loss, and praised the pontiff's benevolence and wisdom.

Some Argentines accused him of being too close to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a divisive left-leaning populist politician, who was president from 2007 to 2015.

But according to Mr Vera, the Pope met with people "from the whole political and social spectrum of Argentina".

The late pontiff's friend also pointed out that, while there was some criticism of Pope Francis in the media and major urban centres, he was loved in other parts of the country.

Although he maintained his connection with Argentina, Mr Vera said, Pope Francis no longer felt he belonged to just one country.

"Argentines believe he was Argentinian, but in reality, he was a citizen of the world," he added.

It is a view shared by Alejandra Castro, a social worker who was among the mourners who gathered on Monday night at Buenos Aires cathedral.

Argentina was "always in his prayers", Ms Castro said. "In one way or another, he was always present, and I think that shows that in his heart, Argentina was always present."

But Mr Vera acknowledged that not everyone felt the same way, and suggested it was up to Argentines to look within themselves for answers: "Rather than blaming Francis, we Argentines should ask ourselves what we were doing that meant we did not deserve the Pope's visit."

His ascension to the papacy heralded many firsts.

Francis was the first Pope from the Americas or the Southern Hemisphere. Not since Syrian-born Gregory III died in 741 had there been a non-European Bishop of Rome.

He was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter - Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.

His predecessor, Benedict XVI, was the first Pope to retire voluntarily in almost 600 years and for almost a decade the Vatican Gardens hosted two popes.

Many Catholics had assumed the new pontiff would be a younger man - but Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina was already in his seventies when he became Pope in 2013.

He had presented himself as a compromise candidate: appealing to conservatives with orthodox views on sexual matters while attracting the reformers with his liberal stance on social justice.

It was hoped his unorthodox background would help rejuvenate the Vatican and reinvigorate its holy mission.

But within the Vatican bureaucracy some of Francis's attempts at reform met with resistance and his predecessor, who died in 2022, remained popular among traditionalists.

From the moment of his election, Francis indicated he would do things differently. He received his cardinals informally and standing - rather than seated on the papal throne.

On 13 March 2013, Pope Francis emerged on the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square.

Clad simply in white, he bore a new name which paid homage to St Francis of Assisi, the 13th Century preacher and animal lover.

He was determined to favour humility over pomp and grandeur. He shunned the papal limousine and insisted on sharing the bus taking other cardinals home.

The new Pope set a moral mission for the 1.2 billion-strong flock. "Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor," he remarked.

His last act as head of the Catholic Church was to appear on Easter Sunday on the balcony of St Peter's Square, waving at thousands of worshippers after weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936 - the eldest of five children. His parents had fled their native Italy to escape the evils of fascism.

He enjoyed tango dancing and became a supporter of his local football club, San Lorenzo.

He was lucky to escape with his life after an initial and serious bout of pneumonia, undergoing an operation to remove part of a lung. It would leave him susceptible to infection throughout his life.

As an elderly man he also suffered from pain in his right knee, which he described as a "physical humiliation".

The young Bergoglio worked as a nightclub bouncer and floor sweeper, before graduating as a chemist.

At a local factory, he worked closely with Esther Ballestrino, who campaigned against Argentina's military dictatorship. She was tortured, her body never found.

He became a Jesuit, studied philosophy and taught literature and psychology. Ordained a decade later, he won swift promotion, becoming provincial superior for Argentina in 1973.

Some felt he failed to do enough to oppose the generals of Argentina's brutal military regime.

He was accused of involvement in the military kidnapping of two priests during Argentina's Dirty War, a period when thousands of people were tortured or killed, or disappeared, from 1976 to 1983.

The two priests were tortured but eventually found alive - heavily sedated and semi-naked.

Bergoglio faced charges of failing to inform the authorities that their work in poor neighbourhoods had been endorsed by the Church. This, if true, had abandoned them to the death squads. It was an accusation he flatly denied, insisting he had worked behind the scenes to free them.

Asked why he did not speak out, he reportedly said it was too difficult. In truth - at 36 years old - he found himself in a chaos that would have tried the most seasoned leader. He certainly helped many who tried to flee the country.

He also had differences with fellow Jesuits who believed Bergoglio lacked interest in liberation theology - that synthesis of Christian thought and Marxist sociology which sought to overthrow injustice. He, by contrast, preferred a gentler form of pastoral support.

At times, the relationship bordered on estrangement. When he sought initially to become Pope in 2005 some Jesuits breathed a sigh of relief.

He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and then became Archbishop.

Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2001 and he took up posts in the Church's civil service, the Curia.

He cultivated a reputation as a man of simple tastes, eschewing many of the trappings of a senior cleric. He usually flew economy and preferred to wear the black gown of a priest - rather than the red and purple of his new position.

In his sermons, he called for social inclusion and criticised governments that failed to pay attention to the poorest in society.

"We live in the most unequal part of the world," he said, "which has grown the most, yet reduced misery the least."

As Pope, he made great efforts to heal the thousand-year rift with the Eastern Orthodox Church. In recognition, for the first time since the Great Schism of 1054, the Patriarch of Constantinople attended the installation of a new Bishop of Rome.

Francis worked with Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists and persuaded the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to join him to pray for peace.

After attacks by Muslim militants, he said it was not right to identify Islam with violence. "If I speak of Islamic violence, then I have to speak of Catholic violence too," he declared.

Politically, he allied himself with the Argentine government's claim on the Falklands, telling a service: "We come to pray for those who have fallen, sons of the homeland who set out to defend their mother, the homeland, to claim the country that is theirs."

And, as a Spanish-speaking Latin American, he provided a crucial service as mediator when the US government edged towards historic rapprochement with Cuba. It is difficult to imagine a European Pope playing such a critical diplomatic role.

On many of the Church's teachings, Pope Francis was a traditionalist.

He was "as uncompromising as Pope John Paul II... on euthanasia, the death penalty, abortion, the right to life, human rights and the celibacy of priests", according to Monsignor Osvaldo Musto, who was at seminary with him.

He said the Church should welcome people regardless of their sexual orientation, but insisted gay adoption was a form of discrimination against children.

There were warm words in favour of some kind of same-sex unions for gay couples, but Francis did not favour calling it marriage. This, he said, would be "an attempt to destroy God's plan".

Shortly after becoming Pope in 2013, he took part in an anti-abortion march in Rome - calling for rights of the unborn "from the moment of conception".

He called on gynaecologists to invoke their consciences and sent a message to Ireland - as it held a referendum on the subject - begging people there to protect the vulnerable.

He resisted the ordination of women, declaring that Pope John Paul II had once and for all ruled out the possibility.

And, although he seemed at first to allow that contraception might be used to prevent disease, he praised Paul VI's teaching on the subject - which warned it might reduce women to instruments of male satisfaction.

In 2015, Pope Francis told an audience in the Philippines that contraception involved "the destruction of the family through the privation of children". It was not the absence of children itself that he saw as so damaging, but the wilful decision to avoid them.

The greatest challenge to his papacy, however, came on two fronts: from those who accused him of failing to tackle child abuse and from conservative critics who felt that he was diluting the faith. In particular, they had in mind his moves to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to take Communion.

Conservatives also adopted the issue of child abuse as a weapon in their long-running campaign.

In August 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a former Apostolic Nuncio to the US, published an 11-page declaration of war. He released a letter describing a series of warnings made to the Vatican about the behaviour of a former cardinal, Theodore McCarrick.

It was alleged that McCarrick had been a serial abuser who attacked both adults and minors. The Pope, Archbishop Viganò said, had made him a "trusted councillor" despite knowing he was deeply corrupted. The solution was clear, he said: Pope Francis should resign.

"These homosexual networks," the archbishop claimed, "act under the concealment of secrecy and lie with the power of octopus tentacles... and are strangling the entire Church."

The ensuing row threatened to engulf the Church. McCarrick was eventually defrocked in February 2019, after an investigation by the Vatican.

During the Covid pandemic, Francis cancelled his regular appearances in St Peter's Square - to prevent the virus circulating. In an important example of moral leadership, he also declared that being vaccinated was a universal obligation.

In 2022, he became the first Pope for more than a century to bury his predecessor - after Benedict's death at the age of 95.

By now, he had his own health problems - with several hospitalisations. But Francis was determined to continue with his efforts to promote global peace and inter-religious dialogue.

In 2023, he made a pilgrimage to South Sudan, pleading with the country's leaders to end conflict.

He appealed for an end to the "absurd and cruel war" in Ukraine, although he disappointed Ukrainians by appearing to swallow Russia's propaganda message of having been provoked into its invasion.

And a year later, he embarked on an ambitious four-country, two-continent odyssey; with stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore.

In recent months, Francis had struggled with his health. In March 2025, he spent five weeks in hospital with pneumonia in both lungs.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio came to the throne of St Peter determined to change it.

There will be some who would have preferred a more liberal leader, and critics will point to his perceived weakness in confronting the institution's legacy of clerical sexual abuse.

But change it, he did.

He appointed more than 140 cardinals from non-European countries and bequeaths his successor a Church that is far more global in outlook than the one he inherited.

And, to set an example, he was the no-frills Pope who elected not to live in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace - complete with Sistine Chapel - but in the modern block next door (which Pope John Paul II had built as a guest house).

He believed anything else would be vanity. "Look at the peacock," he said, "it's beautiful if you look at it from the front. But if you look at it from behind, you discover the truth."

He also hoped he could shake up the institution itself, enhancing the Church's historic mission by cutting through internal strife, focusing on the poor and returning the Church to the people.

"We need to avoid the spiritual sickness of a Church that is wrapped up in its own world," he said shortly after his election.

"If I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn Church, I would choose the first."