Pope Francis passes away at 88 (2025)

‘Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter’, were his words at final public appearance a day earlier

Pope Francis has died, the Vatican said on Monday. The Pope passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, according to a statement from the Vatican.

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At 9.45 am on Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce 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 the service of the Lord and His church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of God, One and Triune.”

Faithful walk to St Peter’s Square

Francis made his final public appearance a day earlier on Easter Sunday, though he had delegated the celebration of the Easter Mass to another cardinal. He blessed a crowd of faithful from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica. “Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” he said.

Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalisation of his papacy.

Who’ll be next pope?

Some contenders are:

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
The 70-year-old Italian is the highest-ranking cardinal in the conclave

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
He is said to have been close to Pope Francis. The 69-year-old Italian is seen as a spiritual successor to Francis

Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives for the weekly general audience at St Peter’s square in The Vatican. File Pics/AFP

Cardinal Peter Turkson
From Ghana, he could make history, if elected, as the first Black Pope

Cardinal Robert Sarah
The 79-year-old, a Guinean, is a favourite among the traditionalist faction of the Church

Cardinal Peter Erdö
The 72-year-old Hungarian cardinal is conservative

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
The 67-year-old is the seventh Filipino to become a cardinal

Angelo Scola
He is a long-standing contender and was in the race in 2013

From humble origins to world leader

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina—the eldest of five children. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969 and led the religious order in Argentina during the country’s murderous dictatorship from 1976-83. He became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and elevated to cardinal in 2001 by St John Paul II. He was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, on the fifth ballot.

Pope Francis with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Vatican City on October 30, 2021. File Pic/PTI

Francis’ firsts

>> The first pope from the Americas
>> The first from the Jesuit order to be elected pope
>> The first to take the name of Francis, after St Francis of Assisi
>> The first to visit Iraq, meeting its top Shiite Muslim cleric in 2021

Francis’ famous quotes

‘Brothers and sisters, good evening!’
Francis’ first words delivered from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica after his election as pontiff on March 13, 2013

‘Who am I to judge?’
Francis, responding to a question about a purportedly gay priest

‘The meeting is the message’
Francis, upon meeting Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azha

‘Being homosexual is not a crime’
Francis, in an interview with The Associated Press

Rites and rituals that follow

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of death and public display of his body for the faithful to pay their respects, followed by the funeral and burial. Pope Francis revised various rites last year, simplifying the funeral rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. But the core elements remain.

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