From CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires to parents of Italian descent. The oldest of five children, the pope often recalled fond memories of a close-knit family and of how his Italian grandmother shaped his faith.

His grandparents narrowly escaped a deadly shipwreck when they migrated from Italy to Argentina, an experience that no doubt influenced his advocacy for those making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe.

When he was 16, Bergoglio had a profound experience during confession which convinced him to train for the priesthood.

He entered the seminary but three years later started training to become a Jesuit, the religious order renowned for its missionary work.

His leadership abilities were recognized and in 1973, at the young age of 36, he was appointed head of the Jesuit order in Argentina, a position he would hold until 1979.

He became the Bishop of Rome in 2013, setting the tone for his pontificate on the night of his election.

He stayed true to those words, encouraging all people, no matter their religion or race, to remember their common humanity.

Francis was a bridge builder, seeking to work with all faiths and denominations.

Pope Francis’ papacy was unprecedented in modern times

Francis’ stint at the head of the Catholic Church was unlike any in centuries.

He was the first pope since the 1400s to co-exist with his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who resigned due to ill health but occasionally signaled his displeasure with the direction in which Francis was steering the church.

And he brought a unique style to the Vatican. Francis famously swerved the opulence afforded to serving popes in favor of the modest trappings of his life in Argentina, where he had once worked as a janitor and a bouncer at a bar.

He turned down the opportunity to move into the luxurious papal apartments, instead opting for a smaller guest house, and celebrated his first birthday in office with three homeless men living on the streets of Rome.

But his tenure did not heal deep divisions within the Catholic Church, whose reputation remains deeply stained by the ongoing revelations of sexual abusers in its ranks, and whose strict teachings on social issues have raised questions about its relevance in parts of the world.

BREAKING: Pope Francis dies aged 88

From CNN’s Christopher Lamb and Rob Picheta

Pope Francis, the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1,300 years, has died, the Vatican has announced. He was 88.

The announcement would have come as a shock to many, coming less than a day after the pope made a high-profile appearance in public.

While he did not appear as engaged as usual on Sunday, he still managed to address a huge crowd of worshippers.

Francis gave the traditional Easter blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, in what marked his highest-profile appearance yet since being discharged from hospital.

Just before that, he held a brief meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.

The death of Francis, who became the first Latin-American pontiff in 2013 and was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history, came weeks after he was discharged from a Rome hospital having battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.

His medical team said his condition had stabilized, allowing for him to continue his convalescence at his Casa Santa Marta residence back at the Vatican.

Two weeks after leaving hospital, he delighted the faithful by making a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Square.

The pope’s tireless advocacy for migrants saw him sharply criticize US President Donald Trump’s immigration deportation policies in the months before his death. Francis, whose pontificate was a counterweight to the rise of nationalist populism, often found himself under fire from powerful conservative Catholic forces in the US.

Francis brought a humbler, more forward-looking approach to the Vatican and worked to soften what the Catholic Church said on social issues like homosexuality, the death penalty and the role of women.

But he struggled to quell the scandal of child sex abuse that has tarnished trust in the church for decades.

His death will open a debate about the future direction of the Catholic Church, with cardinals from across the globe expected to gather in Rome in the coming days to mourn the pontiff and then elect his successor.