Pope FrancisPope Francis is the first South American Pope! Pope Francis was born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was given a different name when he was born. It was Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Mario Jos Bergoglio and Regina Mara Svori were Francis parents. The Pope had one sister named Mara Elena. Francis got his education at Escuela Nacional de Educacin Tcnica. In addition, he never married. In 1958, he entered the Society of Jesus. The Pope established his priesthood on December 13, 1969. From 1998 to 2013, he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. From 2001- 2013, he was an Argentine Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Three of the strongest character traits of Pope Francis are compassion, determination, and perseverance.The first character trait that Pope Francis shows is compassion. When Pope Francis was installed as the Pope, he said he was going to make the environment a priority. He wanted to protect Gods creation. Pope Francis thinks that the environmental change is artificial. He hopes to steady the greenhouse gasses at -2C. The Pope said, I dont know if it (human activity) is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face. This shows compassion because he is putting the environment before himself. Compassionate people put others needs before their own. The second character trait that Pope Francis shows is determination. The Francis Effect is the impact Pope Francis has had on the Catholic Church since he has been there. He has been more open to the people and he made people more enthused about the church. The Sunday mass crowds are up, which is a good thing. The confession lines are increasing. People go to a confession to confess their sins to someone behind a curtain. The Catholic faith is increasing. In addition, the collections are going up. Francis quotes I want you to warm hearts and heal wounds. This shows determination because he is committed to making the Catholic Church a better place. Determination is having the mind set to get something done. The third character trait that Pope Francis shows is perseverance. Pope Francis announced that Juniperro Serra would become a Saint. Juniperro Serra was a Spanish Priest that brought Christianity to America. Serra also created a string of California missions. California missions were religious and military outposts. Catholic Priests created them to spread Christianity. Before, people tried in the 40s and 50s to make him a Saint, but the Native Americans would not allow it. The Natives said that Serra was building missions and put some Natives through hard labor. It shows perseverance because the people tried to make him a Saint before, but now the Pope made the decision to make him a Saint. Perseverance is going through obstacles and not giving up.In summary, Pope Francis is one of the finest leaders ever known to man. He is well known throughout the world because of his compassion for others, his determination, and his perseverance. Pope Francis displayed these traits with his commitment to the environment, his enthusiasm about the Catholic Church, and his persistence in declaring Juniperro Serra a saint. The world would be a better place with more leaders like Pope Francis.