When the white smoke finally drifted above the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013, the world held its breath. People were literally shivering in the rain in St. Peter’s Square, just waiting for a name. When the French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran stepped onto the balcony and announced, "Habemus Papam," he didn't say Francis. He used a name that most of the world didn't recognize yet.
So, what was pope francis name before he stepped into those famous red shoes?
It was Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Honestly, the transition from "Jorge" to "Francis" wasn't just a branding exercise. It was a massive signal of where the Church was headed. Bergoglio was the first Jesuit to become pope, the first from the Americas, and the first to pick a name that hadn't been touched in two thousand years of Church history.
Who Was Jorge Mario Bergoglio?
Before he was the most famous man in the Vatican, Jorge was just a kid from Buenos Aires. He was born on December 17, 1936. His parents were Italian immigrants—his dad, Mario, worked for the railway, and his mom, Regina, was a stay-at-home parent raising five children.
You might think popes spend their whole lives in cathedrals, but Jorge’s early life was pretty "normal." He was a huge soccer fan (San Lorenzo is his team). He even worked as a bouncer at a bar in Buenos Aires to make money while he was a student. Can you imagine? The leader of the Catholic Church checking IDs at a club door.
He didn't start out studying theology, either. He actually graduated as a chemical technician. He spent time working in a food laboratory, analyzing the science of what we eat. But something shifted when he was 21. He got hit with a nasty case of pneumonia—so bad that doctors had to remove a part of his right lung. During that recovery, the "call" to the priesthood became impossible to ignore.
Why Did He Change His Name to Francis?
When a man is elected pope, he gets asked a very specific question: "By what name shall you be called?"
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Most guys play it safe. They pick John, or Paul, or Benedict, or Pius. Those are the "safe" legacy names. But Bergoglio did something radical. He chose Francis.
Here is the backstory that most people miss. As the votes were being tallied in the conclave and it became clear Jorge was going to win, his friend, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, leaned over and whispered, "Don’t forget the poor."
That phrase stuck. Bergoglio immediately thought of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th-century saint who walked away from a wealthy life to live among the destitute and talk to animals. By choosing that name, Jorge was basically telling the world: "I’m here for the people on the margins."
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A Name of Many Firsts
- The First Francis: No other pope in 2,000 years had the guts to take this name.
- The First Jesuit: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) are known for being teachers and missionaries, but they usually stay away from the papacy.
- The First from the Western Hemisphere: He broke the European streak that had lasted for centuries.
The Man Behind the Title
Even after he became Pope Francis, the "Jorge" side of him never really went away. In Argentina, he was known for taking the bus to work. He didn't want a private limo. He lived in a simple apartment instead of the archbishop's palace.
When he moved to Rome, he kept that same vibe. He refused to live in the fancy Apostolic Palace. Instead, he stayed in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, a guest house where he could eat breakfast with regular people. He even kept his old iron pectoral cross instead of the flashy gold ones popes usually wear.
What This Means for You Today
Understanding what was pope francis name tells you a lot about the leader he became. He wasn't born into royalty. He was a chemist, a bouncer, and a guy who liked to ride the subway.
If you're looking to apply the "Francis" philosophy to your own life, here are some actionable ways to channel that Bergoglio energy:
- Simplicity over status: Look at your own life. Are there places where you're chasing "the gold cross" when the "iron cross" would do just fine?
- The "Don't Forget the Poor" rule: In your business or personal life, find one way to serve someone who can do absolutely nothing for you in return.
- Bridge-building: One of the Pope's titles is Pontifex Maximus, which basically means "Great Bridge-Builder." Jorge Mario Bergoglio spent his career trying to talk to people who disagreed with him. Try having a conversation with someone outside your "bubble" this week without trying to win an argument.
The story of Jorge Bergoglio becoming Francis is a reminder that your past—whether you were a scientist or a bouncer—is exactly what prepares you for your biggest calling. He didn't leave Jorge behind; he just gave Jorge a bigger platform to do what he’d been doing in the streets of Buenos Aires all along.
To see this in action, you can look up his 2015 encyclical Laudato si', which is basically a long love letter to the environment, inspired directly by the saint whose name he took. It's a great place to start if you want to understand the "Francis" brand of leadership.