On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff and a transformative figure in the Catholic Church, died at the age of 88 in Vatican City’s Casa Santa Marta, just one day after delivering a brief Easter blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican announced his death at 7:35 a.m. local time, attributing it to a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse. His death followed a prolonged battle with double pneumonia and a 38-day hospitalization earlier in the year. The event triggered the traditional nine-day mourning period, known as Novendiale, with tributes pouring in for a leader who reshaped the Church’s global voice.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, Francis became the 266th pope in 2013—the first Jesuit and first non-European pontiff in over 1,000 years. His 12-year papacy was marked by humility—choosing to live in a guesthouse instead of the Apostolic Palace—and bold outreach to migrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and the poor. He often found himself at odds with conservative factions within the Church. In his final Easter message, delivered the day before his passing, Francis called for an end to violence across the world, including in Gaza and Sudan, and emphasized disarmament and the release of prisoners.
Health struggles were a defining feature of Francis’s final years. From February 14 to March 23, 2025, he was hospitalized for bilateral pneumonia and experienced two near-death episodes. Nevertheless, he rallied to appear on Easter Sunday, motivated by what aides described as a desire to “continue serving to the end.”
The official death announcement was read by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican’s camerlengo. News of the pontiff’s death was met with widespread grief. Church bells tolled in Rome and at Notre Dame in Paris. Argentina, his homeland, declared seven days of national mourning. President Donald Trump, who had previously clashed with Francis on migration issues, ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff. Former President Joe Biden described Francis as “one of the most consequential spiritual leaders of our time.” King Charles III, who had met Francis days earlier, expressed condolences, and French President Emmanuel Macron praised his empathy and global advocacy.
Francis’s funeral rites will begin on April 23, with his body lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica. In keeping with simplified protocols he approved, the rites will forgo the traditional triple-coffin burial in favor of a single coffin. He also requested burial not at St. Peter’s, but at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a church he frequently visited and held dear for its ties to Marian devotion and his Argentine heritage.
As the world approaches Earth Day, Francis’s commitment to environmental care is also being remembered. His 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, urged action against climate change and has remained a benchmark for ecological teachings in the Church. Humanitarian groups, including the UN Refugee Agency and Caritas, honored him as a passionate advocate for displaced people and peacebuilders. Known for symbolic acts—such as kissing the feet of South Sudanese rivals—he often used gestures to advance dialogue and reconciliation.
Across Italy, soccer matches were postponed, and the Empire State Building in New York was lit in gold and white to honor his memory. As St. Peter’s Square fills with mourners, Pope Francis’s legacy continues—one of faith, humility, and a global Church attuned to the cries of the poor, the planet, and the forgotten.
Image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license and was created by Yakov Fedorov.
