VATICAN CITY, Rome – Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff and one of the most transformative leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in recent history, died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.
His death was confirmed in a solemn announcement by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, from the Vatican residence of Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope had been living.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Farrell said at 9:45 a.m. from the chapel of the residence.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church.”
The pontiff, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, had been suffering from chronic respiratory issues, a condition dating back to surgery in his twenties during which a portion of his lung was removed.
He was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on 14 February this year following a bout of bronchitis.
Diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia on 18 February, he remained hospitalised for 38 days before returning to his Vatican residence in late March.
Despite the severity of his illness, Pope Francis made a brief public appearance on Easter Sunday, riding in an open-air popemobile through St. Peter’s Square and offering a blessing from the balcony of the Basilica – his first public address since Christmas.
It was a poignant final gesture from a pope known for his accessibility, simplicity, and devotion to the faithful.
In preparation for this moment, Pope Francis had approved an updated edition of the papal funeral liturgy in April 2024.
The rite stipulates that the death be confirmed in the chapel and that the body be placed directly in the coffin.
According to Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Apostolic Ceremonies, Pope Francis requested that his funeral be “simplified” and centred on “the faith of the Church in the Risen Body of Christ.”
“The renewed rite,” Archbishop Ravelli noted, “seeks to emphasise even more that the funeral of the Roman Pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful person of this world.”
Born in 1936, Bergoglio was elected to the papacy on 13 March 2013, following the unprecedented resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
Eschewing many of the traditional trappings of the papal office, he chose not to reside in the Apostolic Palace and instead lived in a modest guesthouse for what he once described as his “psychological health.”
His election signalled a desire among cardinals to heal divisions within the Church and restore credibility after years of scandal.
Throughout his 12-year papacy, Francis emerged as a vocal advocate for the poor, a proponent of interfaith dialogue, and a reformer determined to confront clerical abuse and financial misconduct within the Vatican.
His tenure, however, was far from unifying. While celebrated globally for his humility and social engagement, he often faced staunch resistance from within – both from conservatives who accused him of doctrinal compromise and progressives who argued he did not go far enough in reforming the 2,000-year-old institution.
“He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement following the Pope’s death.
Jose Ramos-Horta, president of East Timor, a country visited by Pope Francis in 2024, praised his “profound legacy of humanity, of justice, of human fraternity.”
Francis also leaves behind a legacy of ecclesiastical transformation.
He appointed nearly 80 percent of the cardinals who are eligible to vote in the next conclave, raising the likelihood that his successor may carry forward his pastoral and progressive approach.
His death closes a chapter marked by simultaneous hope and discord. For much of his pontificate, Pope Francis shared the Vatican with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died in December 2022.
The two men, symbolically dressed in white, stood for differing visions of the Church’s future — one rooted in tradition, the other in renewal.
The Vatican has yet to announce details of the funeral arrangements or the timeline for the conclave to elect the next pope.
As the world mourns, the Church now turns to the task of choosing a new shepherd for its 1.4 billion faithful.
Pope Francis Holds His Weekly General Audience
In this picture provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, right, and Pope Francis pray together, at the Vatican, on Monday, Dec 23, 2013. — PHOTO: AP
Pope Francis (left) speaks with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery at the Vatican, on Dec 23, 2013. — PHOTO: REUTERS
Pope Francis (right) shakes hands with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery at the Vatican, on Dec 23, 2013. — PHOTO: REUTERS
Pope Francis (left) shakes hands with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery at the Vatican, on Dec 23, 2013. Pope Francis made a Christmas visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict on Monday and said he found his 86-year-old predecessor looking well, according to television footage released by the Vatican. — PHOTO: REUTERS
Christian pilgrims pray at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, during Christmas celebrations in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem on December 24, 2013. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Christian pilgrims from around the world to visit the Holy Land to mark the visit of Pope Francis, set for 2014, in a Christmas message.(Photo credit: HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images)
In this picture provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, left, welcomes Pope Francis as they exchanged Christmas greetings, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)
Palestinian Christian scouts perform in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, during Christmas celebrations in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem on December 24, 2013. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Christian pilgrims from around the world to visit the Holy Land to mark the visit of Pope Francis, set for 2014, in a Christmas message. AFP PHOTO/MUSA AL-SHAER (Photo credit: MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/Getty Images)
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis caresses a boy during an audience with families in St. Peter’s Square gathered for the Pontifical Council for the FamilyÌs plenary assembly, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. Pope Francis was delivering a homily but a little boy stole the show. Francis was speaking in St. Peter’s Square about the important role grandparents play when a little boy walked up behind him and confidently climbed up and sat down on the pontiff’s white chair. The Vatican says Francis was surrounded by elderly faithful and their grandchildren Saturday night at a rally to encourage family life when the boy came up, wearing a striped shirt, jeans and sneakers. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano, ho)
Pope Francis’ compassionate nature was poignantly captured in this image of him tenderly comforting a man with a rare disorder by kissing him on the head at the end of his Pope Francis (R) hugs a sick person in Saint Peter’s Square at the end of his General Audience in Vatican City, 06 November 2013. EPA/CLAUDIO PERI /LANDOV
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis kisses the foot of an inmate at the juvenile detention center of Casal del Marmo, Rome, Thursday, March 28, 2013. Francis washed the feet of a dozen inmates at the juvenile detention center in a Holy Thursday ritual that he celebrated for years as archbishop and is continuing now that he is pope. Two of the 12 were young women, an unusual choice given that the rite re-enacts Jesus’ washing of the feet of his male disciples. The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the Vatican said the 12 selected for the rite weren’t necessarily Catholic. (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano)
Two Polish nuns look at people bathing as hundreds of thousands of young Catholic pilgrims attending World Youth Day (WYD) start gathering at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro for a prayer vigil with Pope Francis, on July 27, 2013. In a speech to Brazil’s political, religious and civil society leaders earlier, Pope Francis said a “constructive dialogue” was needed to confront the country’s social turmoil, referring to the massive street protests that rocked Brazil last month to demand an end to corruption and better public services. (Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty Images)
People play a nativity scene during the unveiling ceremony of the crib in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on December 24, 2013. Pope Francis visited his predecessor Benedict XVI yesterday for an informal Christmas greeting, as the Argentine pontiff prepares to celebrate his first Christmas as leader of the world’s Roman Catholics.
People wait for Pope Francis’ arrival for an audience with families in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. Pope Francis on Sunday will celebrate a Holy Mass on the occasion of the Family Day. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis blesses a child in St. Peter’s Square after celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican March 24. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Pope Francis in his typical picture, waving and smiling on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine
The 2013 Harley DavidsonSuper Glide Custom A 1,585cc Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide, donated to Pope Francis last year and signed by him on its tank, is displayed ahead of Bonham’s sale of vintage and classic cars, at the Grand Palais in Paris, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. The bike will be sold at auction to help raise funds for a soup kitchen and hostel for the homeless in Rome. (Photo Credit: AP/Thibault Camus)
Pope Francis
Pope Francis
Pope Francis delivers a speech during a meeting with young people last month in Cagliari, Italy.
Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he stands on a balcony at the Aparecida Basilica after celebrating Mass. | Luca Zennaro/AP
Pope Francis
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass in the main square of the village of Castelgandolfo, the pontiffs’ summer residence in the hills overlooking Rome, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. | AP/Alessandro Bianchi
Pope Francis, shown here at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Wednesday, has emphasized inclusiveness in many of his speeches. In recent remarks, he reached out to atheists.
Pope Francis greets his papal audience (Photo Credit: iStock)
Pope Francis celebrates the First Vespers and Te Deum prayers in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on December 31, 2013. (Photo Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
FILE: Pope Francis salutes as he arrives for his weekly open-air general audience on September 4, 2013 in St.Peters square at the Vatican. (Photo Credit: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis
President Jonathan with Pope Francis at the Vatican | Photo: Reuben Abati
President Jonathan with Pope Francis at the Vatican | Photo: Reuben Abati
President Jonathan with Pope Francis at the Vatican | Photo: Reuben Abati
President Jonathan & the First Lady with Pope Francis at the Vatican | Photo: Reuben Abati
A gift from Pope Francis to President Jonathan, Vatican | Photo: Reuben Abati
First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan greeting Pope Francis
President Jonathan and entourage with Pope Francis
The historic first meeting between US President Obama and Pope Francis (Photo Credit: Business Insider)
Pope Francis and President Barack Obama smile as they exchange gifts at the Vatican (Photo Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS/AP)
In this photo provided Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter’s Basilica with youths from the Italian Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio who came to Rome for a pilgrimage, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013. The pontiff had a private audience with 500 youths from the diocese. | AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis kisses the foot of an inmate at the juvenile detention center of Casal del Marmo, Rome, Thursday, March 28, 2013. Francis washed the feet of a dozen inmates at a juvenile detention center in a Holy Thursday ritual that he celebrated for years as archbishop and is continuing now that he is pope. Two of the 12 were young women, an unusual choice given that the rite re-enacts Jesus’ washing of the feet of his male disciples. The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the Vatican said the 12 selected for the rite weren’t necessarily Catholic. | AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano
Nov. 20, 2013 – Vatican City State, Italy – POPE FRANCIS blesses a sick man with deformed facial features after his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. | Evandro Inetti/ZUMAPRESS.com
Pope Francis waves to faithfull as he arrives for his first Angelus at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, 40 kms south east of Rome on July 15, 2013. | Andreas Solaro /AFP/Getty Images)
In this image from video, a crowd mobs the silver Fiat carrying Pope Francis through Rio de Janeiro on Monday, July 22, 2013. Ecstatic believers forced the closed Fiat to stop several times as they swarmed around during the drive from the airport to an official opening ceremony in the center of the city. | AP
In this picture provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, right, is flanked by Vatican Almoner Archbishop Konrad Krajewski as he welcomes four men at the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. Four homeless people, one of them bringing his dog, helped Pope Francis celebrate his 77th birthday at the Vatican Tuesday. They live on the street in the Rome neighborhood just outside the Holy See’s walls and were invited by the Vatican official in charge of alms-giving to attend the morning Mass which Francis celebrates daily at the hotel where he lives on Vatican City grounds, the Vatican said. One of the men held his dog as he was presented to Francis after the guests chatted following Mass. The Vatican also said Francis invited his household help to join him in a “family-like” atmosphere, and he spoke of them one by one during his homily. | AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis touches a boy’s head, no name available, as he delivers his speech during an audience with families in St. Peter’s Square gathered for the Pontifical Council for the Familyís plenary assembly, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. A young boy, part of a group of children sitting around the stage where the pontiff was delivering his message to families, played around Pope Francis as he continued delivering his speech, occasionally patting the boy’s head. | AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis Washes Feet on Maundy Thursday 2014
Pope Francis (L) kisses the foot of a person as he performs the traditional Washing of the feet during a visit at a center for disabled people as part of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) as part of the Holy Week on April 17, 2014 in Rome. (Photo Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis (C) performs the traditional Washing of the feet during a visit at a center for disabled people as part of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) as part of the Holy Week on April 17, 2014 in Rome. (Photo Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis (L) kisses the foot of a man as he performs the traditional Washing of the feet during a visit at a center for disabled people as part of Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) as part of the Holy Week on April 17, 2014 in Rome. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis celebrates an open-air mass in front of the Italy’s largest war memorial, in Fogliano Redipuglia, northern Italy, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014. Pope Francis has urged the world to shed its apathy in the face of what he sees as a third world war, intoning “war is madness” during a homily at the foot of a Fascist-era World War I monument near the Slovene border. (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Paolo Giovannini)
Pope Francis prays at the gravestones of an Austro-Hungarian cemetery in Fogliano di Redipuglia, northern Italy, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014. Pope Francis will confront a piece of his own family history when he visits a World War I memorial Saturday built amid the battlefields where his grandfather fought in the brutal Italian offensive against the Austro-Hungarian empire, surviving to impress upon the future pope the horrors of war. Francis’ aim is by recalling those who died in the first World War that broke out 100 years ago is to honor the victims of all wars, and it comes at a time when his calls for peace have grown ever more urgent amid new threats. The pontiff will pray first among the neat rows of gravestones for fallen soldiers from five nations buried a tidy, enclosed Austro-Hungarian cemetery, then travel by car just a couple of hundred meters to Italy’s largest war memorial, a grandiose Fascist-era monument to 100,000 fallen Italian soldiers, for an open-air mass. (Photo Credit:AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Pope Francis listens as Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, left, speaks during the morning session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 13. At right is Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, relator for the synod. | CNS Photo/Paul Haring
Pope Francis embraces a girl during a meeting with young people at Manila university Philippines on Sunday, January 18, 2015. (Photo credit: Reuters)
Oscar Crespo, 77, grew up with Pope Francis in Buenos Aires and is pictured here during his trip to see him in the Vatican in October. (Photo Credit: Mail Online)
The Pope told Mr Crespo, pictured here meeting the Pope, real name Jorge Bergoglio, when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires six years ago, that the ban on priests getting married was not ‘doctrine’. (Photo Credit: Mail Online)
Oscar Crespo, Pope Francis’ best friend from childhood. (Photo Credit: Mail Online)
Throwback photo: Oscar Crespo, (fifth from left) and Pope Francis, (fourth from right), in a high school picture together. (Photo Credit: Mail Online)
Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates on Thursday, April 2, 2015 (Photo Credit: Pintrest)
Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates on Thursday, April 2, 2015 (Photo Credit: Pintrest)
Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates on Thursday, April 2, 2015 (Photo Credit: Leslie Beckett)
Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates on Thursday, April 2, 2015 (Photo Credit: Pinterest)
Argentinan model with big boobs, Victoria Xipolitakis, was on Sunday, July 12, 2015 turned back from the queue of people who wanted to greet Pope Francis in Asuncion, Paraguay because of her raunchy dressing. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Argentinan model with big boobs, Victoria Xipolitakis, was on Sunday, July 12, 2015 turned back from the queue of people who wanted to greet Pope Francis in Asuncion, Paraguay because of her raunchy dressing. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Argentinan model with big boobs, Victoria Xipolitakis, was on Sunday, July 12, 2015 turned back from the queue of people who wanted to greet Pope Francis in Asuncion, Paraguay because of her raunchy dressing. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Argentinan model with big boobs, Victoria Xipolitakis, was on Sunday, July 12, 2015 turned back from the queue of people who wanted to greet Pope Francis in Asuncion, Paraguay because of her raunchy dressing. (Photo Credit: AP)
Argentinan model with big boobs, Victoria Xipolitakis, was on Sunday, July 12, 2015 turned back from the queue of people who wanted to greet Pope Francis in Asuncion, Paraguay because of her raunchy dressing. (Photo Credit: CEN)
Pope Francis addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. | Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)
Pope Francis speaks at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 26, 2015. | AFP/Vincenzo Pinto/Getty Images
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis’ blouse as he looks on from the porch in St.Peter’s Square at the Vatican, during an audience with Catholic volunteers of the Confederazione nazionale delle Misericordie D’Italia (National Confederation of Mercy of Italy), on June 14, 2014. | AFP/Filippo Monteforte/Getty Images
A gust of wind blows off Pope Francis’ mantle on the Popemobile as he is driven from Jose Marti airport to the Havana’s downtown, on September 19, 2015. | AFP/Adalberto Roque/Getty Images
The wind blows the dress of Pope Francis as he leads his weekly general audience on September 16, 2015 on St Peter’s square at the Vatican. | AFP/Vincenzo Pinto/Getty Images
Pope Francis waves as he parades around the White House Ellipse in Washington September 23, 2015. | Reuters/James Duggan
The Pope With Former Nigerian leader, Goodluck Jonathan
Pro-Biafra activists, IPOB, wave flags in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, February 28. Pope Francis greeted the activists as indigenous peoples of Biafra during his Angelus address. | Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis gives the traditional biretta hat to new cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez of Malaysia during a consistory ceremony to install 17 new cardinals in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican November 19, 2016 | Osservatore Romano handout via Reuters
Archbishop of Chicago Blase J. Cupich receives congratulations from cardinals during the Ordinary Public Consistory celebrated by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica on November 19, 2016 in Vatican City, Vatican. Thirteen of the new Cardinals will be under 80 years and will be eligible to vote in a conclave.| Franco Origlia/Getty Images Europe
Pope Francis kisses the statue of baby Jesus as he arrives to lead the Christmas night mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 24. | Max Rossi/Reuters
Pope Francis holds the crib effigy of the infant Jesus as he attends the Christmas night mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, 2013 in Vatican City. | Vatican City Images
Pope Francis leads a Christmas Eve mass at St Peter’s Basilica to mark the nativity of Jesus Christ, on Dec. 24, at the Vatican. | Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis | Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Worshippers pray at the shrine before the canonisation of Jacinta and Francisco Marto. | Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty
Pope Francis walks among marble crosses at the American military cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. | Stefano Rellandini/Pool Photo/AP
Pope Francis waves at well-wishers as he arrives at the Catholic shrine of Fátima. | Reuters
Francis looks at the crowd gathering in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima from the window of his helicopter. | L’Osservatore Romano/AP
Devotees surround the popemobile as Francis heads to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima. | Tony Gentile/Reuters
The pontiff prays in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fátima at the Chapel of the Apparitions. | Tony Gentile/Reuters
Pope Francis
Pop Francis greets migrants
Pope Francis greets Paloma Garcia Ovejero, right, and Greg Burke at the Vatican. The Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, and his deputy resigned suddenly Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 amid an overhaul of the Vatican’s communications operations that coincides with a troubled period in Pope Francis’ papacy. In a tweet, Burke said he and his deputy, Paloma Garcia Ovejero, had resigned effective January 1, 2016. | L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP
Pope Francis kneels to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, centre, and South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar, right, in the Vatican. | AFP
Pope Francis
Pope Francis
Pope Francis
Pope Francis
Pope Francis places a red biretta on new Nigerian Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke of Ekwulobia, Anambra State, during a consistory for the creation of 20 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Aug. 27, 2022. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Pope Francis speaks at the opening of the annual spring meeting of the Italian bishops’ conference at the Vatican May 20, 2019. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) See POPE-ITALIAN-BISHOPS May 20, 2019.
President Joe Biden and Pope Francis
Pope Francis prays before the crucifix in St Marcelo church on the Via del Corso, Rome | Vatican Media
Pope Francis walks past cardinals as he leaves a consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 28, 2017. The pope created five new cardinals at the service | CNS photo/Paul Haring
Pope Francis talks with new Nigerian Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke of Ekwulobia after presenting the red biretta to him during a consistory for the creation of 20 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Aug. 27, 2022. (CNS Photo/Paul Haring)
Pope Francis blessing guests during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday morning. | Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Pope Francis greets people in traditional dress while meeting young people in the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 9, 2024. | AP/Mark Baker
Pope Francis wears traditional hat during a meeting with faithful in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 8, 2024. | AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
Pope Francis at the Vatican last year. The decision to allow blessings was based on his “pastoral vision,” officials said. | Andreas Solaro/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. | Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – JANUARY 12: Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus blessing from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square on January 12, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis turned his thoughts to the thousands of people affected by devastating fires in the US city of Los Angeles and renewed his appeal to pray for peace. | Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Pope Francis waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. | AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi message and gives Easter blessing following Easter Sunday Mass on April 12, 2020 behind closed doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, during the country’s lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. | Andreas SOLARO / POOL / AFP
Pope Francis
Pope Francis, pictured in September in Singapore, has endured severe pneumonia in the past and had part of one lung removed. | Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis | Andreas Solaro/AFP viA Getty Images
Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Feb. 28, 2024. | AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
Pope Francis (C) and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (2nd L) are greeted by well-wishers following a meeting with Indonesian authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 4, 2024, during his apostolic visit to Asia. | Willy Kurniawan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
A statue of the late Pope John Paul II stands outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis has gone to continue treatment for ongoing bronchitis in Rome, Italy, Feb. 14, 2025. | REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Jubilee Year, at the Vatican, Dec. 24, 2024. | Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP
Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus blessing from his residence at the Casa Santa Marta on November 26, 2023 in Vatican City, Vatican. | Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
A woman touches a portrait of Pope Francis on February 24, 2025, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. | John Moore/Getty Images
Nuns pray at the statue of John Paul II outside Gemelli University Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia. | Tiziana Fabi / AFP – Getty Images
A girl scout places a scarf among the candles lit for Pope Francis outside Gemelli Hospital. | Tiziana Fabi/AFP – Getty Images
Pope Francis at the chapel in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, March 16, 2025. | Vatican Press Office
Pope Francis receives a traditional hat during a meeting with faithful in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 8, 2024. | AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
