The prevailing tradition was to set saints in a place-less background, often gold to represent heaven. Giotto took a biographical approach, portraying 28 scenes of Francis’s life.

FILE – Pope Francis, left, speaks to migrants, wearing white caps, during his visit to the island of Lampedusa, southern Italy, Monday July 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool, File) ...

Bergoglio was the first pope to choose the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment who took a vow of poverty and was concerned about the downtrodden.

Pope Francis has broken the mold both inside and outside the Vatican. These 12 little-known facts will show you the most human and surprising side of the pontiff who made history. Skip to content ...

Francis was known for his personal simplicity, from the choice of his name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth to help the poor, to the outward symbols and priorities ...

March 13, 2013: Elected 266th pope, the first from the Americas, the first Jesuit and the first to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. Read more about the life of Pope Francis ...

Francis was known for his personal simplicity, from the choice of his name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth to help the poor, to the outward symbols and priorities ...

Pope Francis, whose time as head of the Catholic Church was noted for an everyman humility and outreach efforts to people of disparate backgrounds and faiths, has died at 88, the Vatican has ...

The pope’s namesake, St. Francis of Assisi — he who helped the poor and embraced the animals, who preached a gospel of simplicity and love — is shown enraptured in prayer, his hands clasped ...

There's an old saying often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. While St. Francis likely never said those words, Pope Francis, who took ...

A faithful waves a flag with Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican ...