Pope Francis dead at 88
April 21, 2025
Pope Francis died early in the morning of Easter Monday, April 21.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who was appointed by Pope Francis to the office of camerlengo—the official responsible for the temporal needs of the Holy See during a papal interregnum—made the formal announcement of the Pope’s death at 9:47 on Monday morning:
Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow 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 devoted to service to the Lord and His Church.
He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of 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 the infinite merciful love the One and Triune God.
Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the Vatican’s health director, signed the death certificate, saying that the Pontiff had died of a stroke and “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.” He had lapsed into a coma early Monday morning, from which he did not recover.
Pope Francis had made his final public appearance on Easter Sunday, delivering his Urbi et Orbi blessing, in a weak voice, from the loggia of St. Peter’s basilica. American Vice President J. D. Vance, who had met with the Pontiff earlier that same day, reported that “he was obviously very ill.”
Pope Francis had been hospitalized in February, suffering from respiratory difficulties, and remained in the Gemelli Hospital for 38 days, being treated for double pneumonia. When he was released on March 23, doctors cautioned that he was facing a long convalescence, strongly advising him to curtail meetings for two months, and warned that he would remain vulnerable to respiratory problems.
However the Pope quickly showed that he would be impatient with that recovery schedule, making unannounced appearances during Holy Week, hosting a meeting with staff members from the Gemelli Hospital and traveling to Rome’s Regina Coeli prison to meet with inmates there on Holy Thursday (as he had done in previous years).
While the Vatican issued occasional assurances that the Pope was recovering from his medical crisis, these updates invariably reported “slight” improvements, and his appearance—marked by labored breathing, and a very limited ability to move his arms—strongly suggested that his condition remained frail. Since the doctors who had treated him disclosed that they had seriously considered withdrawing treatment during a respiratory crisis in February, “slight” improvements were clearly not sufficient to recover his strength.
What next?
Cardinal Farrell, in his capacity as camerlengo, will preside at the formal removal of the late Pope’s body from his residence to the papal chapel, probably on Wednesday, April 23. There his remains will be made ready for veneration by the public.
Cardinal Farrell will also be responsible for planning the details of the Pontiff’s funeral—which will take place at the end of the week—although Pope Francis may have left specific instructions for his own funeral. Last November the Pontiff had issued a new, simplified ritual for a papal funeral, and indicated that he wants to be buried in a simple casket, and interred in the basilica of St. Mary Major rather than St. Peter’s.
With the death of the Pope, the terms of most leaders of the Roman Curia lapse (the exceptions are the camerlengo and the top officials of the Secretariat of State), and the governance of the Church is directed by the College of Cardinals. However, during the sede vacante period the cardinals are not authorized to make decisions that would properly fall to the Roman Pontiff; their authority extends only to “the dispatch of ordinary business and of matters which cannot be postponed.”
Meanwhile the members of the College of Cardinals are summoned to Rome, where a conclave will meet in fifteen days to elect the next Pope.
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