Following a two-day conclave, the College of Cardinals elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a cardinal from Argentina, as pope on March 13, 2015. The cardinal from Argentina took the name of Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images …  When Pope Benedict XVI announced in February 2013 that he would retire at the end of that month, he became the first pope since the 15th century to resign from his office. The then 85-year-old pontiff said his advanced age and deteriorating strength factored into his decision to step down. Franco Origlia/Getty Images …  Pope Francis quickly set a new tone for his papacy, distinct from his predecessors. He eschewed the more regal trapping of his office, choosing to live in a Vatican guest house rather than the Papal Apartments. He said the Church was focusing too much on issues such as abortion and warned, ‘We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.’ Andrew Medichini/Associated Press …  Pope Francis emphasized that the Church should be at the service of all, believers and nonbelievers. In 2015, at a Holy Thursday service, he washed the feet of 12 inmates in a prison in Rome, and asked that they pray for him. L'Osservatore Romano/Associated Press …  In July 2013, Pope Francis issued his first encyclical, ‘Lumen Fidei’ (The Light of Faith), completing a work begun by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The encyclical explored the virtue of faith, following two earlier encyclicals by Benedict which dealt with love and hope. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters …  Only a few months after his election, in July 2013, Pope Francis visited the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a major entry point for undocumented migrants to Europe. More recently, he called upon Europe’s Catholics to provide help and homes to the thousands of refugees flooding the continent. Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press …  Pope Francis made his first major overseas visit in July 2013, traveling to Brazil, to rejuvenate a Catholic flock that has dwindled amid a rise in secularism and other faiths. At the conclusion of his visit, while saying Mass for 3 million people, he told the crowd, ‘Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away.’ Felipe Dana/Associated Press …  On his trip back from Brazil, asked by a reporter about gay clergy, the pope said, ‘Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord? You can’t marginalize these people.’ He did reaffirm church teaching by referring to homosexual acts as a sin. Luca Zennaro/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …  President Barack Obama met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in March 2014. Mr. Obama said the two discussed income inequality, immigration overhauls and international conflicts, including in the Middle East. Mr. Obama also said he invited Pope Francis to visit the U.S. and told him Americans would be overjoyed to see him. Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …  During his visit to Israel in May 2014, the pope stopped to pray at a wall dividing Israel from the West Bank, while on his way to celebrate a Mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Mheisen Amareen/Reuters …  Tens of thousands attended a Mass at a stadium in Daejeon, South Korea, during the pope’s August 2014 visit. Pope Francis used the day’s events to speak out against what he described as the dangers of economic inequality and the excesses of capitalism. Later, he met with thousands of young people at a shrine at Solmoe that honors a Korean martyr who was also the first ordained priest on the peninsula. Lee Jin-man/Associated Press …  The Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, right, accompanied Pope Francis during a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul in November 2014. During the trip, the pope visited Ankara and Istanbul, meeting Muslim and Orthodox Christian leaders and top Turkish politicians. Metin Pala/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images …  During a November 2014 speech to the European Parliament, Pope Francis said Europe had grown ‘elderly and haggard,’ and was criticized by some for comparing the continent to a ‘grandmother, no longer fertile and vibrant.’ Christian Hartmann/Associated Press …  During a five-day visit to the Philippines in January, Pope Francis told lawmakers there, ‘It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good.’ Johannes Eisele/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …  Thousands of the faithful cheering cheered the pope upon his arrival to celebrate mass in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in June. During his visit, at a meeting with Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox leaders, he said ‘interreligious dialogue must not be limited to just a few, to the heads of religious communities, but it should be extended as far as possible among all believers.’ Andrej Isakovic/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …  Pope Francis waves to visitors in St. Peter's square in June. The same month, his encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ (Be Praised) saw the Holy Father warning against global warming. His encyclical emphasized the unequal social effects of environmental problems, which he said ‘strike in a special way the weakest on the planet.’ Giampiero Sposito/Reuters …  Visiting Bolivia in July, the pope praised the ethnic diversity of the country, saying it was a ‘land blessed in its people, with its varied cultural and ethnic reality, which constitutes a great richness and a permanent call to mutual respect and dialogue.’ Mario Tama/Getty Images …  Pope Francis takes a selfie with a group of people in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican in August. The pope has rated very highly in popularity polls around the globe. Filippo Monteforte/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images …  On September 1, Pope Francis said all priests in the church's upcoming Year of Mercy would be permitted to absolve women of the ‘sin of abortion’ if they repent with a ‘contrite heart.’ Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press …  Pope Francis blessed newlywed couples during a general audience at the Vatican in February. Earlier this month, just a few days before traveling to the U.S. to participate in the World Meeting of Families, the pope released new rules making it simpler for Catholics to obtain annulments. Among other steps, the new rules eliminate the requirement that any annulment granted by a church court must be automatically reviewed by another set of judges. Tony Gentile/Reuters …
As the U.S. prepares to receive Pope Francis, here’s a look back at some of the highlights of his papacy.