Francis I Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; December 17, 1936) is the 266th and current POPE of the Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013. He chose his regnal name in honor of the Catholic saint Francis of Assisi. He is the first Pope born in the Americas. Prior to his election, he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires , since 1998, and as a Cardinal since 2001. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife. After studying at the Seminary in Villa Devoto, he entered the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958. Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio Máximo San José in San Miguel and then taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe and the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 13, 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He attended the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel, a seminary in San Miguel. Bergoglio attained the position of novice master there and became professor of theology. Impressed with his leadership skills, the Society of Jesus promoted Bergoglio and he served as provincial for Argentina from 1973 to 1979. He was transferred in 1980 to become the Rector of the seminary in San Miguel where he had studied. He served in that capacity until 1986. He completed his doctoral dissertation in Germany and returned to his homeland to serve as confessor and spiritual director in Cordoba.
