Vatican,April 21,2025: Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the age of 88, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday.
He was 88, and had suffered various ailments in his 12-year papacy.
“This morning at 7:35 am (0535 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in the statement published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.
On Sunday, Pope Francis called for freedom of thought and tolerance in his Easter Sunday address.
After giving his Easter greetings to the crowd, estimated at more than 35,000 people, from the basilica’s balcony, Francis delegated the reading of his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) benediction to an associate.
“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others,” read his speech, which also condemned “worrisome” anti-Semitism, and the “dramatic and deplorable” situation in Gaza.
Pope Francis was discharged from hospital on March 23
Pope Francis was released from the hospital on March 23, after five weeks of treatment for pneumonia.
For the first time since becoming pope in 2013, Francis missed most Holy Week events, such as Friday’s Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum and Easter vigil at Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he delegated his duties to cardinals.
Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from the Americas, was also the first pope in more than a century to live outside the Vatican’s apostolic palace, an ornate Italian Renaissance building located next to St. Peter’s Square.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis, who is said to have never taken holidays, followed a frenetic schedule that he had repeatedly refused to reduce, despite his advancing age and warnings from doctors to slow down.
Pope Francis, known for bold reforms that inspired many Catholics but stirred criticism from traditionalists.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of Italian immigrant stock. He was ordained a priest in the Jesuit order in 1969. From 1973-79 he was the order’s top leader in Argentina. He became an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and the city’s archbishop in 1998. He was made a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
– Surprising many observers of the Roman Catholic Church, Bergoglio was elected pope at a conclave in March 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict. He chose to be called Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, emphasising a commitment to poverty, peace, and care for the environment.
– He was the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, the first from Latin America and the first Jesuit to hold the post. Jesuits are known for their commitment to education and social justice, including working with the poor and marginalised.
He shunned many of the traditional trappings of the papacy, preferring to live in a modern Vatican guest house rather than the grand papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. He pared back the papal wardrobe, wore a plastic watch and chose to be driven around in a simple family car.
He soon clashed with conservatives, who were unhappy with his informal style from the start. They balked at his calls for the Church to be more welcoming to LGBT people and divorced Catholics and at his clampdowns on the use of the traditional Latin Mass.
Francis made 47 trips outside of Italy, visiting more than 65 states and territories, clocking up more than 465,000 km (289,000 miles). However, he never returned to Argentina.
