Quotes Of Paus Fransiskus

Francis ( Latin : Papa Franciscus or Italian : Papa Francesco ; born December 17, 1936) is the 266th Pope . As such, he is both the head of the Catholic Church and the head of state of the Vatican City State . From 1998 until his election as Pope on the second day of the 2013 Papal Conclave , 13 March 2013, he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires , Argentina . Previously, he was appointed Cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Francis is fluent in Spanish , Italian and German .

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit priest and the first Latin American of Italian descent to be elected pope. He was also the first non-European Pope since Pope Gregory III of Syria died in 741.

As pope, he has made pastoral trips to South Korea, Brazil, the Philippines and Sri Lanka and visited the United States and Cuba in September 2015.