Global leaders are honoring Pope Francis today after the Vatican announced that he has died at the age of 88. The pope’s death came one day after he had made a final appearance in public on Easter.
In Rome, Vatican officials announced, “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
The man who was known as “the people’s pope” passed away after weeks in the hospital with pneumonia, and one day after returning to the Vatican to deliver his Easter message and to also meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
During mass, he struggled to wish everyone a happy Easter, and then a Vatican official read his message.
Born in Buenos Aires as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he had worked as a janitor and nightclub bouncer while studying to be a chemist. He would later enter the priesthood and become the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Jesuit order, and the first to take the name Francis.
Pope Francis rose to the position after a rare resignation by his predecessor. In 2013, Pope Benedict the sixteenth had declared that he would be the first pontiff in 600 years to leave the throne of Saint Peter alive.
His name paid homage to Francis of Assisi, dedicating himself to the less fortunate, washing the feet of prisoners and showing his desire to be close to the people, often opting to ride in an open-air car instead of the bullet-proof pope mobile, and regularly stepping out to shake hands or to give someone a hug.
One of the other big areas of concern for the Pope was the poor. “He traveled around the world and always met with people in the slums, in prisons, everyone on the margins of the society. They were his priority,” AP reporter Nicole Winfield recalled.
He was also one of the church’s more outspoken and openly political popes, often taking progressive stands and addressing issues such as immigration and the environment, criticizing both Joe Biden for his view on abortion and Donald Trump for his mass deportations.
He also once said of a reportedly gay priest, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
And he declared “zero tolerance” for child sex-abuse, a problem that has plagued the church for decades.
Tributes from around the world began pouring in shortly after the announcement of the pope’s death.
Evangelicals pray for the Catholic Church, as they mourn the passing of Pope Francis and prepare to select his successor.
As an evangelical, I participated in Pope Francis’ historic pilgrimages to the United Arab Emirates (a first ever visit by any Pope to the Arabian Peninsula)… pic.twitter.com/d2tkUUfgtC
— Rev. Johnnie Moore ن (@JohnnieM) April 21, 2025
His funeral is expected to be held in the next 4 to 6 days after his body lies in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing. Francis had asked to be buried in a simple wooden casket.
Then, attention will turn to who will be chosen as the next pope to chart the future direction of the Roman Catholic Church.
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