Christians throughout the world mourn the loss of the humble, kind and progressive pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, the beloved head and the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died aged 88 on Easter Monday.

He served as the pope since 2013.

The Vatican said Pope Francis died of stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure.

“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 from stroke, coma and irreversible cardiovascular collapse,” Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of Vatican City State Professor Andrea Arcangeli said in a declaration statement.

According to ABC News, “Vatican employees placed a red ribbon on the door of the pope’s residence, tying it shut, before putting a wax seal on the ribbon. This symbolises the formal end of Francis’s pontificate,” with the pope’s death triggering nine days of mourning.

Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva paid tribute to the late pope, describing him as “the pope of the poor”.

“We’ve lost the father of us all, the father of all humanity, who insisted time and again that the Church must have room for everyone,” the archbishop said at the start of Easter Monday Mass at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral.

Early Life

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis was the eldest of five children. His parents – Regina, a homemaker, and Mario, an accountant – were Italian immigrants.

Francis earned a chemical technician’s diploma and worked as a food chemist for Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory.

Priesthood

As a teenager, the future pope chose the path of priesthood after being inspired by a priest during a visit to a church in Argentina.

Then, at the age of 21, he contracted a life-threatening bout of pneumonia and had part of his lung removed.

The sickness inspired him to hasten the process of becoming a priest, according to the 2014 biography Pope Francis.

He joined the Society of Jesus or Jesuits in 1958. The Jesuits is a male order of the Catholic Church, established in the 16th Century Europe, whose members swear vows of poverty and chastity.

As a Jesuit novice, Francis studied humanities in Chile for a time before returning to Argentina in 1963.

In the mid 1960s, he taught literature and psychology at a college in Santa Fé and, in 1969, was ordained to the priesthood.

From Priest to Cardinal

Francis was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1992 as an auxiliary bishop of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and became the archbishop of the city six years later.

According to the Vatican, he remained a “simple pastor” and lived in an apartment and prepared his own meals.

“My people are poor, and I am one of them,” he said at the time.

In 2001 he was consecrated as a cardinal by Pope John Paul II.

Pope Francis

When Pope Benedict XVI resigned over age and health concerns in 2013, Francis was elected Pope. 

He chose the name Francis in honour of St Francis of Assisi, who was devoted to the poor, and St Francis Xavier.

“Let us always pray for one another,” Francis said in his first speech as Pontiff.

“Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood.”

Humble Life

Humility was the hallmark of Francis’s papacy. On his first Holy Thursday as Pope, Francis washed the feet of 12 convicted criminals, including two women and a Muslim.

He lived in a tiny suite in the Vatican, rather than the penthouse apartment used by previous popes.

And he reportedly never stayed in the palatial papal summer residence at Italy’s Castel Gandolfo.

“The new pope is a very humble man,” said Argentine priest Reverend Eduardo Mangiarotti, in 2013.

Social Justice

To that end, Francis was a staunch crusader for the poor and downtrodden, including refugees.

During the 2016 US election campaign, he targeted then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump over his promise to build a wall on the Mexican border.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” said Pope Francis.

“This is not in the gospel.”

US Vice President JD Vance, a recent convert to Roman Catholicism, was among the last visitors of the Pope’s, whose final appearance was blessing a crowd gathered for an Easter Sunday service in St Peter’s Square.

In a letter to Catholic bishops in the US in February, the Pope described the mass deportations as a “major crisis” that was damaging “the dignity of many men and women”, according to The Guardian.

Legacy and Quotes

His more than a decade-long years of service saw Pope Francis stand up for inclusion, social justice and environmental awareness issues across the globe. 

“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness,” the Pope said.

“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.

“Let us care for one another and let us be loving custodians of creation.

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love.

“We need to include the excluded and preach peace.

Pope Francis’ Final Wishes and Burial

The Vatican released the Testament of the Holy Father Francis, made on 29 June 2022:

“In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

“As I sense that the twilight of my earthly life is approaching, and with firm hope in Eternal Life, I wish to express my final wishes regarding my burial place.

“I have always entrusted my life and priestly and episcopal ministry to the Mother of Our Lord, Mary Most Holy. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest, awaiting the day of resurrection, in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

“I wish that my final earthly journey conclude precisely in this ancient Marian shrine, where I go to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey to faithfully entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to give thanks for her gentle and maternal care.

“I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side nave between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the aforementioned Papal Basilica, as indicated in the enclosed plan.

“The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, and bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.

“The expenses for the preparation of my burial will be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor, which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I have given the appropriate instructions to Msgr. Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Chapter.

“May the Lord grant the deserved reward to those who have wished me well and will continue to pray for me. The suffering that marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and brotherhood among peoples.”

What happens next?

Pope Francis’ death has set off the secret meeting of the conclave, where cardinals elect a new pope in the Sistine Chapel. 

A funeral date has not yet been announced.

Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.

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