Pope Francis died on Holy Monday, the Vatican announced. The head of the Roman Catholic Church died after months of serious health problems, including severe pneumonia.
KEY FACTS
- Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the chief administrator of the Holy See, announced Francis’ death, stating: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
- Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, was 88 years old.
- Just a day before his death, Pope Francis appeared briefly on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday to deliver a special “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing.
- He again called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
IMPORTANT QUOTE
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with deep sadness that I must inform you of the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to serving the Lord and his Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal charity, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With profound gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we entrust the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram
WHEN WILL POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL BE?
The mourning rituals will last nine days, with the date of the funeral and burial ceremony to be determined by the cardinals.
Pope Francis has shed many of the pomp and privilege associated with leading the worldwide Catholic Church. In 2024, he changed and simplified the rituals for a papal funeral.
The funeral mass is expected to take place in St. Peter’s Square, but unlike many of his predecessors, Francis wished to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, near his beloved icon of the Virgin Mary.
Francis also wished to be laid in a simple wooden coffin, unlike his predecessors, who were buried in three nested coffins – made of cypress, lead, and oak.
KEY STORY
Pope Francis has changed the face of the modern papacy more than any of his predecessors, shedding many of its traditional pomp and privilege. But his attempts to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and less judgmental have made him an enemy of conservative circles longing for a traditional past.
Francis inherited a deeply divided church after the resignation of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2013. The rift between conservative and progressive wings deepened further after Francis, an Argentine, became the first non-European pope in 1,300 years. The polarization was most acute in the United States, where conservative Catholicism often intertwined with well-funded far-right politics and media.
For nearly a decade – until Benedict died in 2022 – there were two men in white in the Vatican, which created confusion among the faithful and led to calls for written norms on the role of retired popes.
In January 2023, conservative hostility to Francis was exposed when it was revealed that the late Australian Cardinal George Pell—a leading figure in the conservative movement and an ally of Benedict—authored an anonymous 2022 memorandum that described Francis’ pontificate as a “disaster.” The memorandum was a manifesto of the qualities conservatives wanted in the next pope.
Francis has appointed nearly 80 percent of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope, increasing but not guaranteeing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive line. Some Vatican observers predict a more moderate and less divisive successor.
Under his rule, the Vatican’s revised constitution allowed any baptized layperson, including women, to head most departments in the central administration of the Catholic Church. He appointed more women to senior positions in the Vatican than any other pope before him, though not as many as progressive Catholics would have liked.
Francis was 76 when he was elected and has been in relatively good health for most of his life. He made a good recovery after intestinal surgery in 2021, but a year later a chronic knee problem forced him to slow down. He has never been a fan of physical activity, and his use of a wheelchair and cane has led to a noticeable increase in his weight.
His failure to help end the war in Ukraine has been a major disappointment. Since the first day of the Russian invasion in February 2022, he has called for peace in almost every public appearance – at least twice a week. The conflict has led to a new decline in relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church, especially after Francis said that Patriarch Kirill, who supported the war, should not behave like “Putin’s minister.”
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas militants, but at the same time has stepped up his criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza on the eve of the signing of the ceasefire agreement in January 2025 – part of the war between Israel and Hamas that broke out in October 2023.
FROM BUENOS AIRES TO THE VATICAN
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, into a family of Italian immigrants who settled in Buenos Aires.
He attended a technical high school and briefly worked as a chemical technologist in a food laboratory. After deciding to become a priest, he studied at the diocesan seminary and in 1958 entered the Jesuit religious order.
At that time, at the age of 21, he contracted pneumonia and had to have the upper part of one of his lungs removed due to cysts.
While still in seminary, his vocation was questioned after he was “bewitched” by a young woman he met at a family wedding. However, he remained true to his decision and, after studying in Argentina, Spain, and Chile, was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969, quickly rising to head of the order in Argentina.
This coincides with the military rule from 1976 to 1983, during which up to 30,000 suspected leftists were abducted and killed.
The Vatican rejects accusations by some critics in Argentina that Francis has been silent about human rights abuses or that he has failed to protect two priests who opposed the regime.
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 2001 to 2013, he often clashed with the Argentine government, insisting that more attention should be paid to social needs.
A HUMBER BEGINNING
Francis won the sympathy of millions with his simplicity, starting with his first words after his election as pope on March 13, 2013: “Brothers and sisters, good evening” – a departure from the traditional greeting “Glory be to Jesus Christ!”.
The first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit to hold the post, Francis is also the first in six centuries to take over the Church after a pope resigns.
He chose the name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi – a saint associated with peace, care for the poor, and respect for the environment.
At his first appearance, the new pope refused to don the purple fur-trimmed mantle (“mozzetta”) and the gold cross, instead remaining with the modest silver cross he had worn as an archbishop.
He also ditched the fancy red shoes of his predecessors for his plain black ones. He wore cheap plastic watches for about $20, some of which he donated to charity auctions.
In his first meeting with journalists three days later, he said: “How I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor.”
A MODEST LIFE
In the Vatican, where some cardinals live in apartments like princes, Francis gave up the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace and stayed at the Hotel Santa Marta, where the cardinals were accommodated during the conclave.
The building with a communal dining room became the informal center of the Roman Catholic Church with over 1.3 billion followers.
“It saved my life,” he said in a 2018 interview with Reuters, explaining that the papal apartments were like a “funnel” that isolated its occupants.
The papal armored limousine was sent to the museum, and Francis began driving in a blue Ford Focus without security systems.
His first trip outside of Rome is to the small Italian island of Lampedusa to honor the thousands of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.
“In this globalized world, we have fallen into a globalization of indifference. We are used to other people’s pain. It doesn’t concern us. It doesn’t interest us. It’s none of our business,” he says.
A HARD YEAR
2018 has been a “terrible year” for Francis, mostly because of the deepening sexual abuse crisis in the Church.
During a visit to Chile in January, he fiercely defended a bishop accused of covering up abuses, saying there was “not a single piece of evidence against him.”
His statement provoked sharp reactions from victims and the media. Even Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, a close advisor to him, distanced himself from his words. Francis later apologized.
Upon his return, he sent Archbishop Charles Scicluna to Chile, whose report revealed “grave negligence” and destroyed evidence. All 34 Chilean bishops resigned, with seven accepting and some later removed from office.
The scandal also reached the United States – the former Archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, resigned as cardinal, and in August, a grand jury report in Pennsylvania revealed 70 years of abuse.
“Shame and repentance,” Francis writes to all Catholics.
During a visit to Ireland, a conservative archbishop used the media interest to call for the pope’s resignation over the McCarrick scandal. Francis removed him from office in February 2019.
In 2020, an official report found that his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, were aware of the rumors but did not react.
WORLD AUTHORITY
Francis is gaining worldwide respect for both his calls for social justice and his political gestures.
He traveled abroad over 45 times, including the first papal visit to Iraq, the UAE, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Bahrain, and Mongolia.
In 2014, secret negotiations brokered by the Vatican led to a rapprochement between the US and Cuba.
In 2018, he signed a historic agreement with China on the appointment of bishops, sharply criticized by conservatives.
A Vatican-UN initiative brings together world leaders to fight climate change. In 2015, Francis issued an encyclical calling for urgent action for the planet.
He sharply criticized Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.
Throughout his pontificate, he defended the rights of refugees, called for an end to human trafficking, and opened a shelter and social services for the homeless near the Vatican.
In Sicily, he denounced the mafia. After the terrorist attacks in France, he declared that “murder in the name of God is satanic.”
THE FRANCIS EFFECT
His style is not to everyone’s taste in the Church, but the “Francis” effect is beginning to be felt.
He contacted people over the phone, becoming known as the “pope of surprise calls.”
In a press conference in 2013, he stated about gay priests: “If a person is gay, seeks God, and has good will – who am I to judge him?”
While this does not change the doctrine, his words show a preference for mercy over condemnation.
CHURCH FOR THE POOR
From the very beginning, Francis sends a clear signal to the clergy – there is no place for careerists. He calls on cardinals not to live “like princes” and insists that the Church should not be closed off in theology while there are hungry people nearby.
“If investments in banks fall, it’s a tragedy, but if people die of hunger, it’s nothing. The church for the poor must fight this thinking,” he says.
He also remains an avid fan of the San Lorenzo football club.
In a 2018 interview, he admitted that he doesn’t miss Argentina: “I only miss the street. I’m a street person. I would like to be able to go out like that again.”
