A Jesuit priest in New York City recalls witnessing Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio become Pope Francis. Posted: April 25, 2025 | Last updated: May 8, 2025.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergoglio a cardinal. Above, ... On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the papacy and became Pope Francis.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio greeting parishioners during the celebration of Saint Cajetan in Buenos Aires. ( AFP: Claudia Conteris ) In 2001, he was made a cardinal under Pope John Paul II.

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

Pablo Leguizamon/AP In this 2008 file photo, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bergoglio was hailed with pride and wonder as the “first Latino pope ...

However, it was taken in 2008, not 1998, and showed a young Francis, who was then known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, riding the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We thus rate this claim as ...

From the archives: A look back at Francis’ appointment as pope in March 2013. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a cardinal from Argentina, was selected as the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic ...