From the moment Pope Francis stepped on to the balcony of St Peter's, people around the globe sensed that not only the Catholic Church, but the world at large, could be entering a new spiritual, political and social age. Burns charts Jorge Mario Bergoglio's formation as a priest and bishop against the dramatic backdrop of Argentina's turbulent politics and the challenging principles he adopted as a member of the Jesuit order. He examines critically the extent to which Bergoglio's social conscience was influenced by the legacy of the country's controversial president General Peron and his wife Evita.