Exploring the Mysterious Gap in Pope Francis's Life

Long before he was elected to run the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis was essentially exiled from his Argentinian Jesuit order. Francis often referred to this two-year period, which happened when he was in his 50s, as a "dark night" and a "crisis" in his life.

For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series, we talk with NPR religion editor Daniel Burke about what he learned by digging into this little known period of Francis' life that shaped him and his papacy.

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