Who is Pope Francis?

USA TODAY

Birth, education and priesthood 

• Born: Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Education: Studied at Theological Faculty of San Miguel. Received licentiate in philosophy.
• Ordained for the Jesuits on Dec. 13, 1969. No Jesuit priest has ever served as pontiff.
• Languages: Besides his native Spanish, Bergoglio also speaks Italian and German.
• Had a lung removed due to infection when he was a teenager.

Becomes a bishop 

• Ordained titular bishop of Auca and auxiliary of Buenos Aires on June 27, 1992.
• Became archbishop of Buenos Aires on Feb. 28, 1998.
• Received title ordinary for the Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina who lack an ordinary in their own rite on Nov. 30, 1998.  

Becomes a cardinal 

• Proclaimed cardinal by Pope John Paul II on Feb. 21, 2001.
• Participated in conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
• Served as president of the Bishops' Conference of Argentina from November 2005 to November 2011.
• Reportedly received the second-most votes after Joseph Ratzinger in the 2005 papal election.  

Interesting facts, comments 

• Bergoglio never lived in the ornate church mansion in Buenos Aires, preferring a simple bed in a downtown room heated by a small stove. For years, he took public transportation around the city.
• When Bergoglio argued that gay adoptions discriminate against children, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez compared his tone to "medieval times and the Inquisition."
• Critics accuse him of failing to stand up publicly against the country's military dictatorship from 1976-1983, when victims and their relatives often brought first-hand accounts of torture, death and kidnappings.