Pope Francis dies: an unconventional pontiff who sought to modernise Catholicism

By Liam Temple, Assistant Professor in the History of Catholicism, Durham University

From the moment of his election in 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the man who became Pope Francis, proved himself to be unconventional.

Shedding much of the formality of previous papal elections, he appeared for the first time on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica in a simple white cassock without the red ermine-trimmed cape, known as a mozzetta, traditionally worn on such occasions.

On his chest was the silver…

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