Pope Francis (1936-2025)

His Holiness Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first from Latin America, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.

Highlights

By Catholic Online
4/21/2025 (4 days ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Pope Francis, Obituary, Pope Francis Obituary, Pope Francis death

The Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 AM local time at the Casa Santa Marta, his residence inside the Vatican. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, made the official declaration of death.

Born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Italian immigrants, Jorge Mario Bergoglio entered the Society of Jesus in 1958. Ordained a priest in 1969 and later made Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, he was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Known for his humility and deep concern for the poor, he often traveled by public transportation and cooked his own meals.

Elected pope on March 13, 2013, following the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, he became the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first to take the name "Francis," inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, poverty, and care for creation.

Pope Francis led the Church through more than a decade of historic firsts and bold reforms. He championed a Church "of the poor and for the poor," denounced clericalism, and reached out to the peripheries of both society and the Church. He was a global voice for migrants, the marginalized, and the environment, penning landmark encyclicals like Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti, and co-signing the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity with Grand Imam Ahmad al-Tayyeb.

He initiated sweeping reforms of the Roman Curia through the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, created the Synod on Synodality to engage all levels of the Church in dialogue, and appointed more lay people and women to positions of Vatican leadership than any pope before him.

In response to the global clergy abuse crisis, Pope Francis abolished the pontifical secret in cases of sexual abuse and streamlined procedures for holding bishops accountable. In 2018, he removed the death penalty from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, calling it "inadmissible."

Despite numerous health challenges, including a lung infection, colon surgery, and mobility issues that often confined him to a wheelchair, he remained a tireless advocate for peace and justice, visiting conflict zones and marginalized communities across the globe--from South Sudan and Iraq to Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He will be remembered for his simple gestures: embracing a man disfigured by disease, inviting homeless individuals to dine with him, and choosing to live in a modest Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal apartments. He often reminded the faithful that "the Church is a field hospital after battle."

Pope Francis is survived spiritually by the 1.3 billion Catholics he served and inspired. Funeral arrangements will be held in St. Peter's Basilica, where his body will lie in state for the faithful to pay their respects.

As the Church mourns its beloved shepherd, we echo his own final words in his 2020 Urbi et Orbi blessing: "Let us not be afraid to be signs of hope and builders of bridges in a world of walls."

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.