Pope Francis has died, but the transformative impact of his papacy—marked by structural reforms that some view as a return to the Church's roots, and others as a further departure from them—will endure as his lasting legacy.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a man of many firsts. When the white smoke arose from the Sistine Chapel more than a decade ago, he became the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first to be a member of the Jesuit Order.
The unorthodox nature his papacy extended beyond his election by the conclave in 2013. Francis' headlining changes were a softening of the Church's stance on homosexuality and contraception, an openness to women carrying out leadership positions within the church, and a rejection of the affluent trappings often associated with the Bishop of Rome.
