The Vatican has confirmed the passing of Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, who died at the age of 88.
The Pope had been hospitalized for an infection that developed into pneumonia in both lungs in recent weeks.
According to Vatican tradition, the Conclave to choose a successor will not take place for at least 15 days.
During this period, Francis’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Catholic Church will observe an official mourning period.
Notably, Francis had expressed a desire to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighborhood, rather than the traditional papal burial site in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became the first Pope from outside Europe in over 1,300 years when he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.
Throughout his papacy, Francis was known for his relatively liberal views on certain issues, which earned him both admiration and controversy.
Some notable aspects of his papacy include:
– Expressing tolerance towards divorcees and allowing priests to bless same-sex couples under certain circumstances.
– Emphasizing concern for the environment and making it a central theme of his papacy.
– Stating that transgender people could be baptized, provided it did not cause scandal or confusion.
– However, he maintained a firm stance on abortion, describing terminations as “an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense” in a text released by the Vatican last year.
Despite facing various health issues, including reduced mobility due to advancing age and a larger waistline, Francis had maintained a busy schedule until his final weeks.
Some notable health challenges include:
– Being hospitalized for three days in March 2023 with bronchitis
– Undergoing a three-hour operation to repair an abdominal hernia in June 2023
– Canceling his trip to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in November 2023 due to influenza and lung inflammation
– Experiencing two recent falls, one in December 2024, which resulted in a bruised chin, and another in January 2025, which injured his right arm
Francis’s health was considered more fragile due to the fact that he had part of one lung removed when he was 21 after developing pleurisy.
The Pope’s passing marks the end of an era, and the Catholic Church will now embark on the process of selecting a new leader.
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