Francis was the first pope from Latin America.
He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to immigrant parents who had fled fascist Italy. He joined the Jesuits after high school, during a time of turmoil and conflict in the church and the country, as NPR's Carrie Kahn explains:
"There was the military dictatorship that he lived through, which had taken power under the auspices of fighting communism. There were leftist wings of the church, where believers and proponents of progressive teachings of liberation theology were."
Pope Francis has faced criticism for some of his stances during that time, with critics charging that he didn't do enough to defend those imprisoned and tortured under the dictatorship.
Francis faced criticism for his management style during his tenure and was sent by authorities to a period of de facto exile to Frankfurt, Germany, and then Córdoba, Argentina.
After about a decade, in 1992, he was named an auxiliary bishop of the Buenos Aires diocese and continued to rise through the ranks, becoming first an archbishop and then a cardinal in 2001.
Kahn recently traveled to Buenos Aires to ask people there how they felt about the pope, and spoke with some at the cathedral where Francis often delivered mass during his time as archbishop.
One woman, who said she received communion from Francis at her confirmation decades ago, praised his commitment to the poor and social justice more broadly. Others appreciated his love of soccer, particularly the Buenos Aires club, San Lorenzo.
"They loved that he was from Latin America — [in] Argentina, and even in neighboring Brazil, where I'm based, I would hear that a lot," Kahn said. "But a lot of people also were very disappointed that he never came and visited, especially in his homeland. Don't forget, this is a region that has some of the largest Catholic populations in the world."
Francis did visit Mexico and Cuba, but did not visit Argentina after becoming pope in 2013.
"When you speak to Argentines ... they regret so much that Pope Francis never got a chance to come home," she added.
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