Pope Francis died on Monday morning, the Vatican announced. He was 88.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican Camerlengo, announced the news in a video message on the Vatican’s TV channel, saying: “Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.”
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The pontiff, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was hospitalized in February over a respiratory health crisis that became a bout of double pneumonia. He remained in hospital for 38 days. It was the longest hospitalization of his papacy—Francis was elected pope in March 2013.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri from the Gemelli hospital in Rome said Francis presented “two very critical episodes” where his “life was in danger” during his prolonged stay in the facility.
Just before he was released from hospital on March 23, the Argentine pope was wheeled out onto the balcony to greet well-wishers in the first blessing he gave since being admitted on Feb. 14.
Doctors said Francis—who had part of one lung removed in his youth—was not completely healed and would need a period of convalescence at the Vatican.
He wasn’t seen again in public until April 6, when he appeared in St. Peter’s Square using a wheelchair and with a breathing tube in his nose.
On Sunday, his traditional Easter address was read by an aide, but Francis was able to say: “Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter.” His procession drove around St. Peter’s Square and stopped several times to bless babies who were brought over to the motorcade.
Despite doctors saying the pontiff would need at least two months of rest, he remained busy. He met with King Charles and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom when they visited the Vatican last week.
Likewise, he met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance the day before he died for a brief reception.
“I know you have not been feeling great, but it’s good to see you in better health,” Vance said to the pontiff. The meeting reportedly lasted just a few minutes.
The Guardian reported that Francis offered three large Easter eggs for Vance’s children, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries.
“Thank you for seeing me,” added Vance, who in February described himself as a “baby Catholic,” having converted in 2019.
“I pray for you every day,” Vance said as he bade the pope farewell. “God bless you.”
Early Monday morning, Vance followed up with a tribute. He wrote on X saying that he’s “happy” to have had a brief meeting with the late pontiff.
“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” he said. “But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”
The meeting came after the Pope’s No. 2 lectured Vance over the administration’s deportation efforts, something the vice president and the leader of the Catholic church had butted heads over for months. The Vatican said there was an “exchange of opinions.”
Francis railed against the policies in a February letter to American bishops: “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,” he said.
His papacy will be remembered for his tireless advocacy for peace. In one of his most symbolic gestures, he knelt down to kiss the feet of South Sudanese leaders as the country was embroiled in a horrific civil war. President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar were in the Vatican in 2019, when Francis urged the leaders to lay down their weapons and pursue peace.
The pope then traveled to South Sudan in February 2023. “Future generations will either venerate your names or cancel their memory, based on what you now do‚" he said in a speech in the country’s capital, Juba.
When his conservative predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned in 2013 Francis inherited a Vatican in disarray.
In February 2019, he vowed that the Roman Catholic church would “spare no effort” in clamping down on one of its most enduring issues: clerical sexual abuse, and those within the church who cover it up. Survivors and campaigners, however, accused the pontiff of “recycled rhetoric” and called his speech “defensive.”
Over his 12-year papacy he was credited with modernizing the Vatican, often provoking ire among traditionalists.
In December 2023, he allowed priests to bless same-sex couples under certain circumstances. This excluded weddings and regular church services, but the decision was hailed as progressive.
Earlier that year, it was reported that the late Australian Cardinal George Pell was the author of an anonymous memo in 2022 that described Francis’ papacy as a “catastrophe.”
Pell was one of the pope’s top aides, until he stepped down to face child sex-abuse charges. The memo said the Pope’s decisions were often “politically correct” and it reflected conservative disquiet with his progressive outlook.
That progressivism has a good chance of continuing into the next papacy, however, as Francis appointed nearly 80 percent of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope.
Trump’s new favorite firebrand conservative leader, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, led the tributes to the pontiff. Reuters reported that she told Italian state broadcaster RAI that she and the Pope had a closer relationship than most people knew.
“The pope and I had a more active relationship than was apparent. It went well beyond our respective institutional roles,” she reportedly said.
“We’ve met many times, even just to exchange opinions. He was able to give comfort in very difficult moments, I have many memories of the pope.”
She added: “The fact he’s leaving on Easter Monday, it’s like he wanted to do his duty until the very end.”
Meloni suggested that the pope appeared fatigued when she saw him last. She added that the pontiff kept a drawing that her daughter made for him.
King Charles, one of his most recent visitors, said he and his wife Queen Consort Camilla were “most deeply saddened” to learn of his passing.
“The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month,” Charles said in a statement.
The White House’s message was understated. The official X account posted: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis,” and added photographs of his Sunday meeting with JD Vance, and older photos of the pontiff with President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
Trump himself offered his condolences on Truth Social. “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis!” Trump wrote. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!”
