Here is what is written in the Rogito for the Pious Transit of Pope Francis: his life close to the last ones

He chose as his episcopal motto Miserando atque eligendo and in his coat of arms he inserted the christogram IHS, symbol of the Society of Jesus. On 3 June 1997, he was promoted to Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires and on the death of Cardinal Quarracino he succeeded him on 28 February 1998 as Archbishop, Primate of Argentina, Ordinary for the Eastern Rite faithful resident in the country and Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University. John Paul II created him Cardinal in the Consistory of 21 February 2001, with the title of Saint Robert Bellarmine. The following October he was Deputy General Rapporteur at the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

He was a simple and much-loved pastor in his Archdiocese, who travelled far and wide, even by metro and bus. He lived in a flat and prepared his own dinner, because he felt like one of the people.

By the Cardinals gathered in Conclave after the resignation of Benedict XVI he was elected Pope on 13 March 2013 and taken the name of Francis, because following the example of the saint of Assisi he wanted to care first and foremost for the poorest of the world. From the loggia of blessings he introduced himself with the words "Brothers and sisters, good evening! And now, let us begin this journey: bishop and people. This journey of the Church of Rome, which is the one that presides in charity over all the Churches. A path of brotherhood, of love, of trust between us'. And, after bowing his head, he said: 'I ask that you pray to the Lord to bless me: the prayer of the people, asking for a blessing for their Bishop'.

On 19 March, the Solemnity of St Joseph, he officially began his Petrine ministry. Always attentive to the poorest and those rejected by society, newly elected Francis chose to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, because he could not do without contact with people, and from the first Maundy Thursday he wanted to celebrate Mass in Cena Domini outside the Vatican, going each time to prisons, to centres for the disabled or drug addicts. He recommended priests to always be ready to administer the sacrament of mercy, to have the courage to leave the sacristies to go in search of the lost sheep, and to keep the doors of the church open to welcome all those eager for an encounter with the Face of God the Father.

He exercised the Petrine ministry with unflagging dedication in favour of dialogue with Muslims and representatives of other religions, at times convening them in prayer meetings and signing Joint Declarations in favour of concord between members of different faiths, such as the Document on Human Brotherhood signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi with Sunni leader al-Tayyeb. His love for the least, the elderly and the little ones led him to initiate the World Days of the Poor, Grandparents and Children. He also instituted the Sunday of the Word of God.

More than any of his predecessors he enlarged the College of Cardinals, convening ten consistories in which he created 163 cardinals, 133 of whom were electors and 30 non-electors, from 73 nations, 23 of whom had never had a cardinal before. He convened five Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops, three ordinary General Assemblies, dedicated to the family, youth and synodality, an extraordinary one again on the family, and a special one for the Pan-Amazonian Region.

Time and again, his voice was raised in defence of the innocent. At the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, on the evening of 27 March 2020 he wanted to pray alone in St Peter's Square, whose colonnade symbolically embraced Rome and the world, for humanity frightened and wounded by the unknown disease. The last few years of his pontificate have been punctuated by numerous appeals for peace, against the shattered Third World War underway in various countries, especially Ukraine, as well as Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Myanmar.

After a ten-day hospitalisation on 4 July 2021 for surgery at the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, Francis went to the same hospital again on 14 February 2025 for a 38-day stay due to bilateral pneumonia. He returned to the Vatican and spent the last weeks of his life in the Casa Santa Marta, devoting himself to the end and with the same passion to his Petrine ministry, although still not fully recovered. On Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025, he looked out from the loggia of St Peter's Basilica for one last time to impart the solemn Urbi et Orbi blessing.

The doctrinal magisterium of Pope Francis has been very rich. Witness of a sober and humble style, founded on openness to missionary work, apostolic courage and mercy, careful in avoiding the danger of self-referentiality and spiritual worldliness in the Church, the Pontiff proposed his apostolic programme in the exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013). The main documents include 4 Encyclicals: Lumen fidei (29 June 2013) which deals with the theme of faith in God, Laudato si' (24 May 2015) which touches on the problem of ecology and the responsibility of mankind in the climate crisis, Fratelli tutti (3 October 2020) on human fraternity and social friendship, Dilexit nos (24 October 2024) on devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

He promulgated 7 Apostolic Exhortations, 39 Apostolic Constitutions, numerous Apostolic Letters, the majority of which in the form of Motu Proprio, 2 Bulls for the Indiction of Holy Years, in addition to the Catecheses proposed at the General Audiences and the allocutions delivered in different parts of the world. After establishing the Secretariats for Communication and for the Economy, and the Dicasteries for Laity, Family and Life and for the Service of Integral Human Development, he reformed the Roman Curia by issuing the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium (19 March 2022). He modified the canonical process for causes of declaration of matrimonial nullity in the CCEO and the CIC (M.P. Mitis et misericors Iesus and Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus) and tightened the legislation regarding crimes committed by clergy representatives against minors or vulnerable persons (M.P. Vos estis lux mundi).

Francis left everyone an admirable testimony of humanity, holy life and universal paternity.