Pope Francis has died, the Vatican announced on Monday, ending a groundbreaking pontificate that sought, however haltingly, to reshape the Roman Catholic Church into a more inclusive institution. His death will set off mourning around the world and deliberations and machinations to choose a successor.

梵蒂冈周一宣布教宗方济各去世，一个开创性的教宗任期由此结束。尽管步伐缓慢，但他在任期间一直努力将罗马天主教会重塑为一个更具包容性的机构。他的离世将引起世界各地人们的悼念，同时随之而来的还有关于继任者的讨论与谋划。

The absence of Francis, a humble champion of the poor, creates a vacuum in the leadership of more than one billion Catholics, and leaves cardinals with a critical decision: whether to choose a new pope who will follow his welcoming, global approach or to restore the more doctrinaire path of his predecessors.

为穷苦者发声的方济各谦恭待人，他的离世意味着领导逾10亿天主教徒的教会出现权力真空，令枢机主教们面临一个关键抉择：是继续他的这种包容且具有全球视野的方向，还是回归前任们更为教条化的道路。

After early missteps, Francis made considerable strides in addressing the church’s sexual abuse crisis and tackled its murky financial culture. His remarkable global stature early in his pontificate — when liberal leaders around the world likewise emphasized climate change, migrants’ rights and income equality — gave way to a populist period when he sometimes seemed a solitary voice. But he never changed his approach.

在经历了初期的失误后，方济各在处理教会的性侵危机以及整治不透明的财务文化方面取得了显著进展。即位之初，他在全球享有极高的声望，当时世界各地的自由派领导人和他一样强调气候变化、移民权利和收入平等等问题。但随着一个民粹主义盛行的时期到来，有时他的声音似乎显得孤立无援。不过，他从未改变自己的行事方式。

Francis believed that the church’s future depended on going to the margins to embrace the faithful in the modern world rather than offering a cloister away from it. The coming days will determine how deep his support truly runs.

方济各认为，教会的未来在于触及社会边缘，拥抱现代世界中的信众，而不是营造一个与世隔绝的修道院。接下来的一段时间将检验他所获得的支持究竟有多深厚。

Here’s what else to know:

以下是其它一些需要了解的信息：

· Papal legacy: Francis created thousands of bishops and appointed more than half of the College of Cardinals, often choosing prelates who shared his priorities of being close to the poor, welcoming the marginalized and moving issues like climate change to the forefront.

教宗的遗产：方济各任命了数千名主教，枢机团中有超过半数成员是由他任命的。他常常选择那些与他秉持相同理念的高级神职人员，这些理念包括亲近穷人、接纳边缘化群体，以及将气候变化等问题置于重要位置。

· A persistent crisis: Despite Francis’ work to address the sexual abuse crisis in the church it haunted his papacy, just as it plagued the papacies of his predecessors.

持续的危机：和几位前任一样，尽管致力于解决教会中的性侵危机，方济各的教宗任期始终受这一问题困扰。

· Choosing a new pope: The death of a pope sets in motion a chain of rituals and procedures, many of which have remained unchanged for centuries and were drafted — and refined — to ensure secrecy and an orderly transition.

选择新教宗：教宗的去世将启动一系列的仪式和程序，其中许多程序几个世纪未曾改变，这些程序的制定——和完善——旨在确保选举过程的保密性和权力的有序交接。