Pope Francis passed away today, April 21, 2025, at 7:35 a.m., in the Vatican, at the age of 88. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires (1936), he was the first Jesuit pontiff from the Americas. He reformed Vatican finances, defended migrants, and condemned "savage capitalism." The Catholic world and beyond mourns the "Pope whose gestures spoke louder than words."

Francis's death brings to an end one of the most transformative papacies in recent history. Elected in 2013 after the resignation of Benedict XVI, Bergoglio chose the name of the saint of Assisi and, as his banner, "a poor Church for the poor." From the beginning, he defied protocol, refused luxury apartments, washed prisoners' feet, and visited slums.

His encyclical Laudato Si' (2015) redefined environmentalism as a moral imperative. Fratelli Tutti (2020) condemned nationalism and defended universal fraternity. A staunch critic of the "globalization of indifference," he called migrants "emblems of the excluded whom Christ would first embrace."

His poor health—the result of a pneumonectomy in his youth—has limited his recent travels. Even so, in 2023, he visited South Sudan with the Archbishop of Canterbury, a historic ecumenical gesture.

“I prefer a damaged Church to a sick and closed one”, said Pope Francis.

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The announcement of Pope Francis' death was made, with sadness, in the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican, by the Camerlengo, His Eminence, Cardinal Farrell, with the following words:

“Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sadness 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 fidelity, 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 God's infinite merciful love.

According to information from the Holy See Press Office, after the announcement of Pope Francis' death, as provided for in the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nn. 21-40), this evening, Monday, April 21, at 20 p.m., the cardinal will preside over the rite of confirmation of death and the placing of the body in the coffin.

The dean of the College of Cardinals, the Pontiff's family, and the director and deputy director of the Health and Hygiene Directorate of Vatican City State will participate in the rite.

The transfer of the Holy Father's body to the Vatican Basilica, for the homage of all the faithful, may take place on the morning of Wednesday, April 23, 2025, according to the modalities that will be defined and communicated tomorrow, after the first Congregation of Cardinals.

This Sunday, he attended Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, where he delivered the urbi et orbi blessing. Following his death, the Church finds itself in a sede vacante, meaning preparations are beginning to elect the new Pope in conclave. Before that, his funeral will take place, which, for the first time since 1903, will not be held in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, as with his predecessors.

In keeping with his humility, he made clear his intention to be buried in the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was frequently seen. Once buried, Masses will be celebrated for nine consecutive days, during which the cardinals will set a date for the start of the conclave to choose Pope Francis' successor.

Revolution in the Church

Francis faced resistance when implementing reforms. He allowed priests to absolve for the sins of abortion (2016) and authorized divorced people to receive communion (2020). He created commissions to investigate sexual abuse in the church, and when critics accused him of being slow, he responded:

“Victims deserve the truth, not excuses”, he responded.

In the Roman Curia, he appointed women to strategic positions. Sister Nathalie Becquart became the first undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops (2021). However, conservatives attacked his openness to dialogue with the LGBTQ+ community, symbolized by the phrase "Who am I to judge?" (2013).

No Pope has visited so many existential peripheries: Iraqi prisons, Greek refugee camps, the streets of Manila. In 2014, at the Astalli Center (Rome), he washed the feet of Muslims and Hindus.

“The Church is not a customs house, but the father's house”, he insisted.

He condemned the "dictatorship of money" in incendiary speeches: "This economic system kills" (2015). He supported taxation of large fortunes and a universal basic income. In the Amazon, he defended indigenous people against mining companies: "Land is not a commodity" (2019).

The pontificate was not without controversy. The McCarrick affair (the cardinal accused of abuse) tarnished his administration. His critics pointed to ambiguity in the removal of corrupt bishops. Scandals like the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (misappropriated funds) shook the credibility of the reforms.

In China, the 2018 agreement to appoint bishops sparked divisions. Cardinals like Joseph Zen accused him of caving to the Communist Party. Francis defended himself:

“Dialogue is better than useless martyrdom.”

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The pontificate of Jorge Mario Bergoglio on the throne of Peter was carried out between trips, reforms, documents, ecclesiastical restructuring, commitments for peace, for the poor and migrants and on the horizon of innovation and fraternity.

Pope Francis was a first in many ways. He was the first Jesuit Pope, the first Pope from Latin America, the first to choose the name Francis without a numeral, the first to be elected while his predecessor was still alive, and the first to reside outside the Apostolic Palace.

He was the first to visit lands never before touched by a pontiff – from Iraq to Corsica – and the first to sign a Declaration of Fraternity with one of the most important Islamic authorities.

He was also the first Pope to appoint a Council of Cardinals to govern the Church, to assign roles of responsibility to women and lay people in the Curia, to launch a Synod that directly involved the people of God, to abolish pontifical secrecy in cases of sexual abuse, and to remove the death penalty from the Catechism.

He was also the first to lead the Church while the world was not at war, but rather at many wars, small and large, fought "piecemeal" on different continents. A war that "is always a defeat," as he repeated in his more than 300 appeals, even when his voice was failing, and which filled every last public statement since the outbreak of violence in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Processes

But Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, probably wouldn't want the concept of "first" to be associated with his pontificate, which has been designed over these 12 years not to achieve goals or gain primacy, but to initiate "processes."

Ongoing processes, completed processes, or distant ones—processes that are likely irreversible even for whoever succeeds him to the throne of Peter. Actions that generate "new dynamisms" in society and the Church—as written in the pontificate's road map, Evangelii Gaudium—always on the horizon of encounter, exchange, and collegiality.

From the End of the World

“And now we begin this journey, Bishop and people,” were the first words spoken from the Central Balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, late in the evening of March 13, 2013, to a crowd that had been filling St. Peter’s Square for a month, under the spotlights following the resignation of Benedict XVI.

For that crowd, the newly elected 76-year-old Pope, chosen by his brother cardinals and originally from "the end of the world," asked for a blessing. With the people, he wanted to recite a Hail Mary, stumbling through an Italian he hadn't practiced assiduously until then, given the Buenos Aires pastor's rare visits to Rome, ready to pack his bags immediately after the Conclave.

And the following day, he wished to pay his intimate tribute to the people, addressing the parish of St. Anne in the Vatican and then the Basilica of St. Mary Major, thanking the Salus Populi Romani, protector of his pontificate, to whom he continued to pay homage in all his most difficult moments. And it was precisely in this Basilica that Francis expressed his desire to be buried.

Shepherd Among the People

The Pope's closeness to the people, a legacy of his Argentine ministry, was demonstrated in various ways in all the following years:

with visits to Vatican officials in their offices, with the Fridays of Mercy in the Jubilee of 2016 in places of marginalization and exclusion, with the celebrations of Holy Thursday in prisons, nursing homes and reception centers, with the long journey in parishes in the Roman suburbs, with surprise visits and phone calls.

And he demonstrated this closeness on all his apostolic trips, beginning with the first to Brazil in 2013, inherited from Benedict XVI, from which we remember the image of the popemobile blocked in the middle of the crowd.

The First Pope in Iraq

The Argentine Pontiff has completed forty-seven international pilgrimages, made based on events, invitations from authorities, missions to be carried out or some internal “movement,” as he himself revealed on the flight back from Iraq.

Yes, exactly Iraq: three days in March 2021 between Baghdad, Ur, Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh, lands and villages still bearing the scars of the terrorist matrix, with blood on the walls and tents of displaced people along the roads, amid the Covid pandemic and general security concerns.

A trip advised against by many due to health concerns and the risk of attacks; a trip desired at all costs. The "most beautiful" journey, as Francis himself always confided, the first Pope to set foot on the land of Abraham, where John Paul II was unable to go, and to speak with the Shiite leader al-Sistani.

From Bangui to Oceania

A good obstinacy took him to Iraq, the same one that in 2015 took him to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, wounded by a civil war that, in the same days of his visit, left dead in the streets.

In the African country, where he said he wanted to go even at the cost of parachuting, Francis opened the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy in a moving ceremony that also marks the record for a Holy Year opened not in Rome, but in one of the poorest regions in the world.

It can also be described as a good obstinacy that inspired his decision to undertake the longest trip of the pontificate in September 2024, at the age of 87: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Singapore.

Fifteen days, two continents, four time zones, 32.814 km traveled by plane. Four different universes, each representing the main themes of the Magisterium: fraternity and interreligious dialogue, peripheries and the climate emergency, reconciliation and faith, wealth and development in the service of poverty.

From Lampedusa to Juba

Revisiting the apostolic journeys and pastoral visits, one cannot forget the first trip outside Rome, to the small island of Lampedusa, the scene of major migratory tragedies, with the wreath thrown in the Mediterranean's "open-air cemetery." The denunciation was also repeated on the two trips to Lesbos (2016 and 2021) in the containers and tents of refugees and displaced persons.

The history of the pontificate also included a trip to the Holy Land (2014); to Sweden, in Lund (2016) for the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation; to Canada (2022) with the request for forgiveness from indigenous populations for the abuses suffered by representatives of the Catholic Church.

And then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, in Juba (2023), this last stage shared with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Ian Greenshields, to underline the ecumenical will to heal the wounds of a people.

The same ones he implored South Sudanese leaders to heal, gathered in 2019 for a two-day retreat at Casa Santa Marta, which concluded with the disturbing gesture of kissing his feet.

Also, Cuba and the United States (2015), a trip to seal the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. A historic event for which Francis spent months preparing, sending letters to Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, urging them to "begin a new phase."

It was Obama himself who publicly thanked the Pontiff. In Havana, he also met with Patriarch Kirill and signed a joint declaration to put into practice the "ecumenism of charity," the Christian commitment to a more fraternal humanity.

A commitment that became, years later, tragically relevant and somewhat disregarded with the outbreak of war in the heart of Europe.

The Document on Human Fraternity

Last but not least, among the trips, we have Abu Dhabi (2019) and the Document on Human Fraternity.

The document was signed jointly with the Grand Imam al-Tayeb, crowning the thaw with the Sunni University of Al-Azhar that began with an embrace at the Casa Santa Marta and ended with the signing of a text that immediately became the cornerstone of Islamic-Christian dialogue, also transposed into several Constitutions.

The Encyclicals

The experiences, dialogues and gestures experienced during these trips flowed into the documents of the pontificate.

Four encyclicals: the first, Lumen Fidei, on the theme of faith, jointly with Benedict XVI; then, Laudato si', a cry to invoke a "change of direction" for our "common home," in crisis due to climate change and excessive exploitation, and to encourage action to eradicate poverty and ensure equitable access to the planet's resources.

The third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, the fundamental axis of the Magisterium, fruit of the Abu Dhabi Document, prophecies – before the outbreak of new wars – of fraternity as the only path for the future of humanity.

Finally, Dilexit Nos to review the tradition and current thinking “about the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus” and send a message to a world that seems to have lost its heart.

Apostolic Exhortations

There are seven apostolic exhortations: From the aforementioned Evangelii Gaudium to C'est la confiance, for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Among them, the post-synodal exhortations – Amoris Laetitia (Synod on the Family), Christus Vivit (Synod on Young People), Querida Amazonia (Synod for the Pan-Amazonian Region) – Gaudete et Exsultate on the call to holiness in the contemporary world, Laudate Deum, an ideal sequel to Laudato si' to complete its call to react for Mother Earth before a “breaking point”.

Some 60 Motu Proprios have been issued to reconfigure the structures of the Roman Curia and the territory of the Diocese of Rome, to change Canon Law and the Vatican judicial system, and to issue stricter rules and procedures in the fight against abuse.

This is the case of Vos estis lux mundi, a document that incorporated the results, indications and recommendations of the Summit on the Protection of Minors, held at the Vatican in February 2019.

A summit that represented the culmination of the work to combat clerical pedophilia and sexual abuse; an expression of the Church's willingness to act with truth and transparency in a penitential attitude.

With Vos estis lux mundi, Francis established new procedures for reporting harassment and violence and introduced the concept of accountability, that is, ensuring that bishops and religious superiors are accountable for their actions.

Reform of the Curia

Therefore, processes. Reform processes have been a constant in Francis's papacy, as he refused to ignore the recommendations of cardinals in pre-conclave congregations who urged the future new Pope to restructure the Roman Curia and, in particular, Vatican finances, which for years had been at the center of scandals.

Soon after his election, the Pope created a Council of Cardinals, the C9 (which became C6 and C8 over the years as the various members changed), a small “senate” to help him govern the universal Church and work on reforming the Curia.

Mergers of Dicasteries and other changes in titles and organizational charts were signs of the work in progress; the final step was the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate evangelium: awaited for years, promulgated in 2022, without prior notice or preamble, introducing significant new features.

Among them, the establishment of the new Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over directly by the Pontiff, and the involvement of lay people “in functions of government and responsibility”.

In this wave of changes, we must see the appointments of the first lay prefect, Paolo Ruffini, to the Dicastery for Communication, the first “prefect” to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, Sister Simona Brambilla, and the first governor of Vatican City, Sister Raffaella Petrini.

The women

Women, another aspect of these years of Bergoglio on the throne of Peter, the Pope who, more than others, entrusted female figures with roles of responsibility, who created two commissions for the study of deaconesses, who never failed to recall the feminine “Genius” and the maternal dimension of the Church (which “is a woman” because “it is the Church, not the Church”).

Furthermore, it placed women side by side with cardinals and bishops at the tables of the last Synod on Synodality, sisters, missionaries, teachers, experts, theologians, to whom it gave, for the first time, the right to vote.

“Everyone, Everyone, Everyone”

An opening, like so many others made by Francisco. Openings, not extirpations, nor leaps; for some too rapid, for others too cautious. Indeed, these too, processes.

Like the granting of the sacraments to the divorced and remarried, from the perspective of the Eucharist as “medicine” for sinners and not as “food for the perfect”.

the welcoming of LGBTQ+ people with the invitation to pastoral closeness, because within the Church there is room for “everyone, everyone, everyone”; the obstinacy in dialogue with representatives of other Christian denominations and religions, after centuries of prejudice and suspicion, also due to the “ecumenism of blood.”

Also, his focus is on China, with the Provisional Agreement for the Appointment of Bishops, signed in 2019 and renewed three times. A sign of dialogue, amid setbacks and recovery, with a "noble people" he has longed to visit for all these years. A desire that harkens back to the missionary aspirations of his youth.

Missionarity and Synodality

Mission, this is also a central theme. Indeed, "missionarity" is a recurring invitation in texts and homilies, as is "synodality," another term that has resonated so often over these twelve years.

The Pope dedicated no less than two sessions of the Synod (2023 and 2024) to “synodality”, renewing the structure and functioning of the assembly, realizing the need to begin the synodal journey “from below” and also establishing ten study groups to deepen doctrinal, theological and pastoral themes after the work.

Poor and Migrants

In this pontificate, the axioms that encapsulated entire ecclesial, political and social realities will also be remembered: “Throwaway culture”, “globalization of indifference”, “poor Church for the poor”, “outgoing Church”, “shepherds with the smell of sheep”, “global ethics of solidarity”.

Attention to the poor will continue with the establishment, in 2017, of a Day dedicated to them, always characterized by the Pope's lunch in the Paul VI Hall, side by side with homeless people.

The teaching on migrants, expressed in the four verbs "welcome, protect, promote, and integrate," will remain as programmatic guidelines for confronting "one of the greatest tragedies of this century." Just as the invitation to develop "honorable commitments" as solutions to the conflicts tearing Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will remain.

Commitment to Peace

Conflicts and the anguish of recent years, denounced in resounding appeals and letters to nuncios and people who are victims of violence, are alleviated through video calls – especially the daily one to the parish in Gaza – or missions by cardinals and the sending of essential products.

“I didn’t think I would be a Pope in wartime.”

He confided in the first and only podcast with Vatican media on the tenth anniversary of his election. Peace was the constant goal. For peace, Pope Francis continually asked for prayers, calling for Days of fasting and prayer—for Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the Holy Land—involving the faithful from all over the world.

He consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 2022; he organized historic moments, such as the planting of an olive tree in the Vatican Gardens on June 8, 2014, with the presidents of Israel, Shimon Peres, and Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas.

In the name of peace, the Pope made unusual gestures, such as getting into his car and going, the day after the first bomb was dropped on Kiev, to the office of the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Alexander Avdeev, trying to initiate contact with President Putin and assuring him of his willingness to mediate.

Francis has repeatedly rebuked heads of state and government, warned warlords that they will be held accountable before God for the tears shed among peoples, and stigmatized the burgeoning arms market by launching a proposal to use weapons spending to create a Global Fund to eradicate hunger.

He called for the construction of bridges, not walls, and insisted on placing the common good above military strategies, sometimes being misinterpreted and criticized.

Innovations

In all these years there has been no shortage of criticism against the Argentine Pope who commented on climbs and headwinds with that humor that is “closest to the grace of God.”

Francis questioned and surprised, perhaps he made someone turn up their nose at the breaking of taboos and the rupture of protocols and old customs, or by the remodeling of the papacy itself with different clothes, a different residence, an unusual gesture, an original pastoral style.

Or appearing in live internet broadcasts and TV programs, using the X @Pontifex account, in 9 languages, or as a channel to convey messages of necessary outreach and immediacy.

Health Problems

In these always dense years, with very rare moments of rest (and the cancellation of the traditional papal vacation in Castel Gandolfo), there was no shortage of difficult moments, amid legal proceedings – led by the long and complex process for the management of the Holy See's funds – the Vatileaks 2 case, abuse and corruption scandals and the publication of books lacking "nobility and humanity."

There was also no shortage of health problems between the operations at Gemelli Hospital in 2021 and 2023, the hospitalization in the same hospital, again in 2023, the respiratory complications, and then the colds, flu and knee pain that forced him to use a wheelchair for the last three years.

Statistic data

So many difficulties never prevented intense activity or his presence at events. Numerous statistics attest to this: more than 500 general audiences, ten consistories for the creation of 163 new cardinals, which restored a universal character to the Church's face.

more than 900 canonizations (including three predecessors: John XXIII, John Paul II, Paul VI); the “Special Years”, including those of Consecrated Life (2015-2016), Saint Joseph (2020-2021) and the Family (2021-2022).

Four World Youth Days: Rio de Janeiro, Krakow, Panama, Lisbon. Two Jubilees: the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 and the ordinary Jubilee in 2025, currently underway, with the theme "Pilgrims of Hope."

The Station Orbis

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a Pope who sought closeness to the general public through interviews, books, prefaces, and autobiographies.

A Pope who, perhaps more than his many words and writings, will be remembered by one image: him, alone, limping, in the rain, in the general silence of the lockdown and with the only background sound of an ambulance, as he crosses St. Peter's Square in the suspended time of the pandemic.

It was the Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020, with the world locked indoors watching a streaming video of an elderly man who seemed to carry on his shoulders the entire weight of a tragedy that turned daily life and habits upside down.

Humanity was in distress, but the Pope spoke of hope and fraternity: "We realized we were in the same boat, all fragile and disoriented, but at the same time all called to row together."

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African heads of state and government today mourned the death of Pope Francis, recognizing his commitment to the most vulnerable and his fight for inclusion, justice, and the promotion of peace:

Samia Suluhu (President of Tanzania): Described Pope Francis as a “teacher and leader” who “taught and inspired the well-being and development of people.” Suluhu highlighted the pontiff’s efforts in promoting peace and extended her condolences to Catholics in Tanzania and around the world.

Faure Gnassingbé (President of Togo): He praised the pontiff as a "tireless artisan of peace, justice, and fraternity," stating that he leaves a "profound mark" on humanity. "His commitment to the most vulnerable and his constant appeal to human dignity will remain engraved in our memory," Gnassingbé said on the social network X.

Évariste Ndayishimiye (President of Burundi): He expressed his condolences to the Catholic Church and recalled the message of faith and humanity that the Pope conveyed during his visit to the Vatican in March 2022.

Hakainde Hichilema (President of Zambia): He remembered the Pope as a man of “great humility and compassion”, who led the Catholic Church “by his example”.

William Ruto (President of Kenya): He highlighted the pontiff's leadership in the Catholic Church, as well as his humility, his "unwavering commitment" to inclusion and justice, and his "deep compassion" for the most vulnerable. "His strong ethical and moral convictions have inspired millions of people around the world, regardless of their faith or background," Ruto said on social media.

Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema (President of Gabon): He sent his “sincere condolences to the entire Catholic community in Gabon and other countries” and declared on social media that the Pope’s message of faith, peace and humility “will continue to be a source of inspiration.”

Abiy Ahmed (Prime Minister of Ethiopia): Expressed hope that the Pope's legacy of “compassion, humility and service to humanity” will continue to inspire future generations.

Félix Tshisekedi (President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo): He welcomed Pope Francis's "unwavering commitment" to peace and paid "solemn tribute to the memory of this great servant of God, whose life was a vibrant testimony of faith, humility and unwavering commitment to peace, justice and human dignity."

Bassirou Diomaye Faye (President of Senegal): He declared that "the world has lost a great spiritual figure." "Through his commitment to the most vulnerable and his constant call for dialogue between peoples and religions, he embodied a living hope for millions of believers and people of goodwill," the head of state said on the social network X.

Ahmed Bola Tinubu (President of Nigeria): He recalled the Pope's "powerful voice" in his action against climate change. "Today, with a heavy heart, I join the Catholic faithful and Christians around the world in mourning the loss of Pope Francis," said the head of state of this nation with 100 million Catholic faithful.

Alassane Ouattara (President of Ivory Coast): He spoke on social media about the Pope's commitment "to the most vulnerable and his desire to build a peaceful, more equitable and environmentally friendly world."

John Dramani Mahama (President of Ghana): He recalled the Pope's “legacy of compassion, humility and commitment to social justice,” which, according to Mahama, “will continue to inspire generations.”

Lazarus Chakwera (President of Malawi): He expressed deep sadness at the passing of "Pope Francis, the 266th Pontiff," whom he had "the honor of meeting at the Vatican nine months ago." The President of this neighboring nation of Mozambique also said that the Holy Father's passing leaves a "legacy of faith, compassion, love, and service, promoting peace, justice, and unity."

Julius Maada Bio (President of Sierra Leone): He wished that the Holy Father's soul "find eternal peace" and offered his sincere condolences to the entire Catholic community for this "difficult time."

Africa accounts for 20% of the world's 1,4 billion Catholics, according to data from the Vatican's statistics office.

Conclusion

Pope Francis leaves a more plural, yet polarized, Church. His legacy will resonate in the peripheries: slums that gained bishops, women with a voice in synods, young people inspired by the 2023 Synod.

The conclave that will elect his successor will face a dilemma: continue the revolution or seek balance. One thing remains certain, however: no pope will be as widely cited on the streets as the humble Bergoglio, who traded mitres for worn-out shoes.