The Vatican announced that Pope Francis passed away this morning at 7:35 am and revealed he died from a stroke, coma, and irreversible cardiovascular collapse.
The Vatican and Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Carmelengo of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 this morning. He said in a statement, “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 favour of the poorest and most marginalized,” he continued. “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.”
Professor Andrea Arcangeli the Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygience of Vatican City State revealed Pope Francis’ cause of death. He stated, “I hereby certify that His Holiness Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on December 17, 1936, resident in Vatican City, Vatican citizen, died at 7:35 a.m. on 21/04/2025 in his apartment at the Domus Sanctae Marthae (Vatican City) from: STROKE, COMA IRREVERSIBLE CARDIOVASCULAR COLLAPSE.”
He also noted that it came as Pope Francis was suffering from: Previous episode of acute respiratory failure in the context of bilateral multimicrobial pneumonia; Multiple bronchiectasis; Arterial hypertension; and Type II diabetes.”
Pope Francis’ death came a day after the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Pope Francis appeared in public on Easter Sunday following a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
In his homily, Pope Francis shared, “He, in fact, has risen from the dead and therefore is no longer in the tomb. We must look for him elsewhere. This is the message of Easter: we must look for him elsewhere. Christ is risen, he is alive! He is no longer a prisoner of death, he is no longer wrapped in the shroud, and therefore we cannot confine him to a fairy tale, we cannot make him a hero of the ancient world, or think of him as a statue in a museum! On the contrary, we must look for him and this is why we cannot remain stationary. We must take action, set out to look for him: look for him in life, look for him in the faces of our brothers and sisters, look for him in everyday business, look for him everywhere except in the tomb.”
“We must look for him without ceasing. Because if he has risen from the dead, then he is present everywhere, he dwells among us, he hides himself and reveals himself even today in the sisters and brothers we meet along the way, in the most ordinary and unpredictable situations of our lives. He is alive and is with us always, shedding the tears of those who suffer and adding to the beauty of life through the small acts of love carried out by each of us,” Pope Francis continued. “For this reason, our Easter faith, which opens us to the encounter with the risen Lord and prepares us to welcome him into our lives, is anything but a complacent settling into some sort of “religious reassurance.” On the contrary, Easter spurs us to action, to run like Mary Magdalene and the disciples; it invites us to have eyes that can “see beyond,” to perceive Jesus, the one who lives, as the God who reveals himself and makes himself present even today, who speaks to us, goes before us, surprises us.”
Following his homily, Pope Francis rode through the crowd in the famous Popemobile.
Pope Francis was elected as the Bishop of Rome during a Papal Conclave in March 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.
As for why he chose the name Francis, he explained in an audience with members of the media on March 16, 2013, “Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes: a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: “Don't forget the poor!” And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end.”
He continued, “Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”
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May the True God give him the reward he deserves.
Hopefully the next pope will actually be Christian.