Pope Francis, who advanced church's relationships with Jews, dies at 88

(JNS) - Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning at the Vatican at the age of 88.

He passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time, according to the Vatican.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas when elected in 2013. His papacy was marked by reform efforts, calls for social justice and outreach to marginalized communities. He also faced mounting criticism over the Church's response to clerical abuse scandals.

In recent years, Pope Francis made several controver...