Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday.
He was 88, and had survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. pic.twitter.com/jUIkbplVi2
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025
Francis’ death comes a day after the pope had made his first prolonged public appearance since being discharged on March 23 from a 38-day hospital stay for pneumonia.
On Easter Sunday, Francis had entered St. Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile shortly after mid-day, greeting cheering crowds. He had also offered a special blessing for the first time since Christmas.
Only weeks after being gravely ill, Pope Francis is cruising around St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday in the Popemobile
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) April 20, 2025
Leaders across the world were reacting to the pope’s death with praise for the first Latin American head of the Roman Catholic Church.
About Pope’s Life
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936. He was the eldest of five children, his parents had fled their native Italy.
He joined the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from severe illness. Bergoglio was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969; from 1973 to 1979, he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina.
He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.
Bergoglio led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina; the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him to be a political rival.
Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Source: Agencies
