Alternative History
Francis
Timeline: 1776: The United Commonwealth of America

OTL equivalent: Pope Francis

Pope Francis Korea Haemi Castle 19 (cropped)
The Pope in 2014

266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
13 March 2013 - present

Predecessor Benedict XVI

11th Archbishop of Buenos Aires
28 February 1998 – 13 March 2013

Predecessor Antonio Cardinal Quarracino
Successor Mario Aurelio Cardinal Poli

3rd Cardinal-Priest of San Roberto Bellarmino
21 February 2001 – 13 March 2013

Predecessor Augusto Vargas Alzamora
Successor Mario Aurelio Poli
Born 17 December 1936
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Religion Roman Catholic

Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 17 December 1936) is the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and Sovereign of the Vatican City. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and nightclub bouncer before beginning seminary studies. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969 and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina's provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. He was accused of handing two priests to the National Reorganization Process during the Dirty War, but the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European pope since the Syrian Gregory III in 741.