Born in Argentina, Francis was the only Latin American pontiff and first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years.
Pope Francis walks past the alter in front of St Peter’s Basilica in St Peter’s Square after his inauguration Mass at the Vatican on March 19, 2013. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]
Published On 21 Apr 202521 Apr 2025
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died. He was 88 years old.
Born in Argentina, he was the first Latin American pope as well as the first non-European to serve for more than 1,000 years.
He was known for his simple words and humble manner that immediately won over the crowds.
After he assumed the papacy in 2013, Francis aimed to make the church more inclusive, opening up key roles to women and trying to address the issue of child sex abuse by Catholic clerics. Analysts, however, remain divided about the success of his efforts.
The 88-year-old pontiff was recovering from double pneumonia and was under doctors’ orders to observe two months of convalescence since he left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23.
Francis suffered from a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at the age of 21.
He became increasingly fragile in recent years.
Here are some pictures from his life as pope:
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio celebrates the traditional Tedeum mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral on May 25, 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [Emiliano Lasalvia/LatinContent via Getty Images]
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Francis waves to the faithful as he is driven to his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 23, 2014. [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]Sri Lankan Hindu priest Kurakkal Somasundaram, right, presents a shawl to Francis during an interreligious meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on January 13, 2015. [Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo]Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, centre left, meet at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, on February 12, 2016. [Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate via AP]Francis lifts a child dressed like him as he greets the faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on August 23, 2017. [L’Osservatore Romano via AP]Francis loses his skull cap as he holds up a cross with Spanish words that read, “I give you my peace,” upon his arrival to meet with young people at the Shrine of Maipu in Santiago, Chile, on January 17, 2018. [Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo]
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Francis twirls a football he was given by a member of the Circus of Cuba during his weekly general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on January 2, 2019. [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]Francis coughs during the Angelus noon prayer he recites from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on March 1, 2020. [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]Francis, surrounded by the shells of destroyed churches, arrives to pray for the victims of war at Hosh al-Bieaa Church Square in Mosul, Iraq, on March 7, 2021. [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]Francis puts on a headdress during a meeting with Indigenous communities, including First Nations, Metis and Inuit, at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Maskwacis near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on July 25, 2022. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]Francis arrives in the popemobile at Ndolo Airport to preside over a Mass in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on February 1, 2023. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]Francis wears a traditional hat during a visit to Papua New Guinea on September 8, 2024. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]Francis sits with nuns at his weekly general audience at the Vatican on February 5, 2025. [Remo Casilli/Reuters]Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the popemobile after the Easter mass, at St Peter’s square in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. [Andreas Solaro/AFP]
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
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I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC.
I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters.
I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism.
In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi:
"Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011)
"10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013)
"Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023)
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
Xem tất cả bài viết bởi Trần Đình Hoành
CVD 