After celebrating Easter, the holiest Christian holiday, yesterday at the Vatican, Pope Francis died at age 88 at 7:35 a.m. Vatican time Monday morning.
The first Latin pontiff, Pope Francis was from Argentina and became head of the Catholic Church in 2013.
He appeared in public for Easter Sunday, but some noticed that he did not appear 100 percent well after having spent five weeks in the hospital for double pneumonia and respiratory concerns. He delegated the celebration of Easter Mass to another cardinal. Francis did, however, bless the crowd from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, as reported by The Associated Press. The 266th pope also rode around in his popemobile amid cheers and applause.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church,” Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said Monday morning.
Ferrell will assume administration of the Vatican as the process of electing a new pope is conducted.
Pope Francis reportedly suffered a stroke, which led to a coma and heart failure.
One of the last world leaders, if not the last world leader, to meet with Pope Francis was United States Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019.
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance said Monday while in India.
Pope Francis was well known for his advocacy of marginalized peoples, including migrants, LGBTQ+ Catholics and the economically disadvantaged. He supported protecting the environment from climate change and often prayed for peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed that his country is grieving the loss of the Pope.
“We are saying goodbye to a great man and a great shepherd,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said. Meloni visited Francis during his recent hospitalization. Flags in Italy were flown at half-staff on Monday and soccer matches were postponed.
Other religious leaders and Christian denominations praised Francis for his willingness to seek dialogue. Rome‘s chief rabbi said that Francis was a new chapter in relations between Judaism and Catholicism.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who speaks fluent Spanish, met the Pope in 2017 and shared condolences on X today for a Pope “who modeled humility and compassion as he led the Catholic Church. I met him once in Rome and we talked in Spanish about the need for all to provide hospitality to refugees. At the end of our conversation, he switched into English and said “Pray for me.” Thank God for his life and service.”
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the oldest of five children of Italian immigrants, credited his grandmother, Rosa, for teaching him how to pray. He loved opera and soccer. While in confession at age 17, he received his religious calling.
“I don’t know what it was, but it changed my life. … I realized that they were waiting for me,” he wrote in his 2010 biography. He switched to the Jesuit order in 1958.
About the same time, he had pneumonia and part of his right lung was removed. His health kept him from doing missionary work and his less-than-100-percent lung capacity possibly resulted in his whispery voice.
He was ordained as a priest in 1969 and began teaching. In 1973, he was named head of the Jesuits in Argentina. He was only 36 years old.
The first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, Francis was also the first to name himself after St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th-Century friar who cared for the outcasts of society and became the patron saint of animals.
On February 14, 2025, he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome for respiratory crisis.
For nine days, the church will observe novendiali, or official mourning. The cardinals will arrive in Rome to participate in a conclave and elect the next pope.
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Rebecca Barnabi
