* The Pope gave the traditional Easter blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday
* In what marked his highest-profile appearance yet since being discharged from hospital after suffering a severe health crisis earlier this year
* Despite his poor health, Pope Francis made an appearance in public on Sunday, greeting delighted crowds at the Vatican
By Christopher Lamb, Lauren Said-Moorhouse & Ivana Kottasova, CNN
Pope Francis, a voice for the poor who overcame fierce resistance to reshape the Catholic Church, has died on Easter Monday, at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced.
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The Pope died the day after Easter Sunday, the most important holiday in Christianity, when the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Despite his poor health, Francis made an appearance in public on Sunday, greeting delighted crowds at the Vatican.
The Pope’s death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, who said: “Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.”
Francis has suffered a severe health crisis earlier this year and was hospitalised for five weeks with double pneumonia. He was discharged last month and was convalescing at his residence at Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican — and the Vatican said as recently as last week that he was improving.
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The announcement would have come as a shock to many, coming less than a day after the Pope made a high-profile appearance in public on Sunday and while he did not appear as engaged as usual, he still managed to address a huge crowd of worshippers.
“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God,” the statement from the Vatican said.
Francis gave the traditional Easter blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, in what marked his highest-profile appearance yet since being discharged from hospital.
Members of the faithful begin to gather at St Peter’s Square, following the death of Pope Francis.—Getty Images
Just before that, he held a brief meeting with US vice-President JD Vance. The Pope’s tireless advocacy for migrants saw him sharply criticise US President Donald Trump’s immigration deportation policies in the months before his death.
Francis, whose pontificate was a counterweight to the rise of nationalist populism, often found himself under fire from powerful conservative Catholic forces in the US.
Condolences and messages of admiration for the pontiff started to pour in shortly after the announcement was made, with world leaders sharing their thoughts and worshipers seen gathering at Saint Peter’s Square.
Death comes after long hospital stay
The death of Francis, who became the first Latin American pontiff in 2013 and was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history, came weeks after he was discharged from a Rome hospital having battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.
Pope Francis pictured at the Vatican in 2022.—Getty Images
His medical team said his condition had stabilised, allowing for him to continue his convalescence at his Casa Santa Marta residence back at the Vatican.
Two weeks after leaving hospital, he delighted the faithful by making a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Square. He has made a number of appearances since then, including spending 30 minutes at a prison in Rome on Thursday and a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday evening.
His death will open a debate about the future direction of the Catholic Church, with cardinals from across the globe expected to gather in Rome in the coming days to mourn the pontiff and then elect his successor.
An outsider figure and the first non-European pontiff in nearly 1,300 years, Francis championed the poor, migrants and the environment, but divisions over same-sex relationships and how to tackle abuse scandals within the church persisted throughout his pontificate.
Pope Francis’ final message: No peace without freedom of religion, thought and expression
In his final address, the Pontiff remembered the people of Gaza, in particular its Christian population, as the conflict “causes death and destruction” and creates a “deplorable humanitarian situation”.
He also called growing global antisemitism “worrisome”, saying: “What a great thirst for death, for killing we see in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world,” he said.
“I express my closeness to the sufferings…for all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. Call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
The Pope also encouraged all parties involved in the Ukraine war to “pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace”.
‘A great man has left us’—Italy’s Prime Minister
As tributes continue to pour in for Pope Francis, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says in a statement: “This news saddens us deeply. I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship.
“He asked the world, once again, for the courage to change direction, to follow a path that ‘does not destroy, but cultivates, repairs, protects’. His teaching and his legacy will not be lost.
“We greet the Holy Father with hearts full of sadness, but we know that he is now in the peace of the Lord.”
Giorgia Meloni
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hails Pope Francis’s commitment to the “most vulnerable” — he says in a post on the social media platform X: “I mourn the passing of Pope Francis. His commitment to peace, social justice, and the most vulnerable leaves a profound legacy. Rest in peace.”
Ursula von der Leyen, chief of the European Commission, says her thoughts are with all who feel this profound loss: “He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who is the acting head of the Church of England, said: “We saw that compellingly in Francis’ service of the poor, his love of neighbour especially the displaced, migrant, the asylum seeker, his deep compassion for the well-being of the earth and his desire to lead and build the church in new ways.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell (right)
“Francis showed us how to follow Jesus and encouraged us to go and do likewise… In their humility and focus on those in the margins, those actions, his whole life, was instantly recognisable as those of one who followed Jesus.”
Archbishop Cottrell also referred to Pope Francis’s work to resolve religious differences, saying he had been “acutely aware of the divisions between our churches and how they stand in the way of seeing Jesus Christ more fully”.
And he paid tribute to his character, describing him as a “holy man of God” who was “also very human. I remember, in the brief times I spent with him, how this holy man of God was also very human.
“He was witty, lively, good to be with, and the warmth of his personality and interest in others shone out from him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”
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Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936 — the eldest of five children, whose parents had fled their native Italy to escape the evils of fascism.
He was lucky to escape with his life after a serious bout of pneumonia, undergoing an operation to remove part of a lung. It would leave him susceptible to infection throughout his life.
As an elderly man he also suffered from pain in his right knee, which he described as a “physical humiliation”.
The young Bergoglio, who enjoyed tango dancing and became a supporter of his local football club, San Lorenzo, worked as a nightclub bouncer and floor sweeper, before graduating as a chemist.
He became a Jesuit, studied philosophy and taught literature and psychology. Ordained a decade later, he won swift promotion, becoming provincial superior for Argentina in 1973.—Tributes and background by BBC News; edited by Maravi Express
