Pope Francis

Vatican City
Vatican City (photo: Vatican Media / VM)

Pope Francis is the 266th Roman Pontiff of the Catholic Church. Formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was elected by the conclave of cardinals on March 13, 2013. As Pope Francis maintains an intense schedule as sovereign of Vatican City State and Holy Father to an estimated 1.2 billion Roman Catholics world wide, from apostolic visits to private audiences with leaders from around the world, and the publication of new documents on topics affecting the Church and the faithful, the Register offers news and analysis on all aspects of the papacy.