Pope Francis was born to Italian immigrant parents. Here’s what we know about his family.
Pope Francis, celebrated as a humble yet forceful pontiff, died on April 21 leaving behind a rich legacy of inclusion and activism. His leadership – of over some 1.4 billion Catholics globally – will be remembered for outreach to women, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ people, and people from other faiths. He sometimes took progressive or controversial stances on pressing issues, such as same-sex couples and climate change.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Italian immigrant parents, Francis was the first pope from the Americas and the first born outside of Europe in over a millennia.
When he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis said he chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th-century Italian friar who renounced his wealth to become "a man of peace, a man of poverty, a man who loved and protected creation,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.
“How I would love a church that is poor and for the poor," Francis, a Jesuit priest by order, told reporters at the time.
Francis died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in a death certificate released April 21.
As mourners line up to pay respects to Pope Francis, here's a look at what we know about his family.
Pope Francis' parents, five siblings
Born on Dec. 17, 1936, Francis was one of five children. His father, Mario, was an accountant and his mother, Regina, was a “committed wife,” according to the Vatican biography.
Pope Francis, or Jorge, was the eldest of the five siblings, according to the New York Times. When he was elected pope in 2013, he had one living sibling, a sister named María Elena Bergoglio, who was 64 at the time, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
Maria, who is 12 years younger than Jorge, told the Reporter at the time she hoped her brother wouldn't become pope because she "wanted him to come back!"
"I didn’t want him to stay there," she said.
However, Maria, fondly known as Mariaela, was all praises for her brother, saying he had "a strong character," and "a deep belief in his convictions that’s unbreakable."
"Nobody is going to be able to force him to compromise on what he believes in," she told the Reporter.
Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reported the two siblings did not visit each other after Jorge was elected as pope, though they remained in close contact. Maria, the youngest of the siblings, is still alive, according to the newspaper, but is in poor health and is being cared for by nuns. It is not known if she will be participating in the funeral proceedings.
'A very big family'
Bergoglio, in another interview with CNN en Español at the time, shared that they had a big family.
The pope's sister told the media outlet when Francis called her after being elected, he told Maria to tell the rest of their family.
“He said, ‘I cannot call everyone. We are a very big family, so please send them my love. Because if I call everyone, it will empty the Vatican coffers,’” Maria said.
Details on other family members are also not currently known.
Was Pope Francis married?
No. In accordance with modern canon law, Pope Francis, like all Catholic priests was not married. The Church requires a vow of celibacy, which means abstaining from marriage or sexual relationships.
Did Pope Francis have any children?
Pope Francis did not have any children given his vow of celibacy. However, he was very fond of children and even authored a children's book titled "Dear Pope Francis," in which he answered questions from children around the world.
"Some are fun. Some are serious. And some will quietly break your heart," the book's synopsis says. "But all of them are from children who deserve to know and feel God’s unconditional love."
This story was updated to add more information and photos.
Contributing: Phaedra Trethan, Jeanine Santucci, Eduardo Cuevas, John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz, Paste BN
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.