At 7:35 a.m. on this Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed what many faithful had been fearing for weeks. Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, after his last hospitalization at Gemelli in Rome and weeks of recovery at his residence, Casa Santa Marta. He left quietly, in line with his austere way of life, for which he stood out from his early days as a religious in his native Buenos Aires. Quietly, like the Flores neighborhood where he was born.
"Dear 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," announced Cardinal Kevin Farrell. "He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense 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 Triune God," the statement concluded.
"Pray for me." Francis incessantly asked his faithful to surround him with their prayers from the first day he appeared before them in 2013 as the new Pontiff until hours before his death when, in a call on Sunday with Catholics refugees in a small parish in the Gaza Strip, he said he "needed their prayers." This Monday, St. Peter's Square was filled with thousands of faithful who responded to the Pope's plea and prayed for him a rosary led by the Italian cardinal Mauro Gambetti.
After this first prayer for Francis and with the sun setting in Rome, the Vatican's authority passed to the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, whose duties began at 8:00 p.m. with the ritual certification of death and the placement of the Pope's body in the coffin. Farrell, who is in charge of all matters related to the Pontiff after his death - in addition to sealing his study and room in Santa Marta - reported that the cause of Francis' death was a stroke. He woke up at six and was reasonably well, according to Vatican sources. But at seven, he began to feel unwell. The Vatican confirmed that the Pope passed away from a stroke.
The path to the election of a new Pope has already begun. This Tuesday, the first congregation of cardinals who will govern the process will take place. The first mission of the cardinals already in Rome will be to agree on the funeral liturgy.
The always bustling Rome is preparing to welcome thousands of faithful from around the world in the coming hours to bid farewell to the Pope. Religious from different orders also arrived at Fiumicino airport; most had departed for Rome upon learning the news this morning. For others, like Friar Gregorio and his congregation of Discalced Carmelites from France, the news caught them by surprise in the middle of their journey: "We came for the jubilee. It was a surprise, we did not expect it. It was going to be a joyful trip, but now it will be in mourning."
He will be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday for public viewing, according to spokesperson Matteo Bruni. The funeral will take place next Monday, and the conclave will be held between May 5 and 10, according to Corriere della Sera.
In the will revealed on Monday, dated June 29, 2022, Francis expresses his last wish: "Bury me in the bare earth" and "in my simple tomb on earth only the name Franciscus."
"Feeling that the end of my earthly life is near and with a lively hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my will only regarding the place of my burial. I have always entrusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, the Most Holy Mary. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest awaiting the day of resurrection in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore," reads the will.
The clinical picture presented by the Argentine was complex. He suffered from a chronic lung disease, having had part of a lung removed in his youth. Francis was admitted on February 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis, which led to bilateral pneumonia. He spent 38 days in the hospital and then remained at his residence.
The Pope was forced to suspend his agenda during his hospitalization, but it was not the only time his commitments were disrupted by his health. In his last days of life, he made surprise appearances. The first of these was the release of an image praying with his back to the camera in a hospital chapel, followed by an image receiving oxygen, or a surprise appearance in St. Peter's Square. His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, which restored hope to Catholics.
On Sunday, he held a brief high-level meeting with the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. Later, he was able to give the 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing. "Happy Easter," said the Pontiff, who appeared in a wheelchair and without nasal cannulas. He was brief in his words, and it was the master of ceremonies, Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who read his speech. It was also not uncommon for someone else to deliver his messages to the faithful. In one of his last statements to the public, he expressed solidarity with the sick because he himself suffered from their effects: "Illness is one of the most difficult trials."
After imparting the blessing, he dared to get on the papal vehicle, something he had not done for months, to greet all the present faithful, as if it were his final farewell to the people, whom he liked to approach so much. The Pope of the people, of the periphery, of the poor... were some of the epithets of a revolutionary Pontiff. The first Jesuit and Latin American to become head of the Church.
The election of Francis marked a radical change in the Church. He was elected at the age of 76 and was not the favorite. He showed his humility from his first message on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, starting with his attire - especially his famous shoes - as he did as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, where it was common to see him travel by public transport. He had many challenges ahead: reforming the Curia, implementing a "zero tolerance" policy against pedophilia, reforming the Penal Code of the Holy See, and, most difficult of all, mediating on the international stage. In the recent text read by Ravelli, Francis once again called for "a ceasefire" in Gaza and rejected "the general race for rearmament."
Now, 1.4 billion Catholic faithful around the world mourn his loss.