Pope Francis Dead At 88 – One America News Network

OAN Staff James Meyers
9:18 AM – Monday, April 21, 2025

Pope Francis, who was considered a reformer that altered the Catholic Church’s traditional views and inspired progressives, has died at the age of 88, the Vatican announced Monday.

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“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell said in a statement released by the Vatican during the early hours of Monday.

“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and the marginalized,” Farrell added.

A somber mood began after the announcement of his death, as mourners gathered at St. Peter’s Square, where the pope had appeared on Easter Sunday in his wheelchair. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” Francis said in what would be his last Easter address, waving and giving his blessing to applause.

Upon hearing of Francis’ death, a stream of people began making their way toward the basilica to pay their respects.

“Even if I won’t be able to enter the Basilica, I came here with my husband to say a prayer,” Titti Lepore, 56, told NBC News, adding, “I’m Catholic, so as soon as I heard about Pope Francis’s death, I felt the need to come here.”

The Vatican on Monday laid out plans for his body, saying that it would be placed in his coffin tonight in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Cardinal Farrell will preside over “the rite of confirmation of death and the placing of the body in the coffin,” the Vatican said in a statement.

After, Francis’ body will then be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica to allow his worshippers to pay their respects, which the Vatican said may take place as early as Wednesday morning.

President Donald Trump offered his condolences and also ordered flags to be put at half-staff in remembrance of Francis.

Tributes began pouring in from around the globe, with Vice President JD Vance, who met with Francis just Sunday to exchange Easter greetings, remembered the pope in a post on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a Facebook Post that news of the pontiff’s death “pains us deeply, because a great man and a great pastor leaves us,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X: “From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest.”

Papa Francesco è tornato alla casa del Padre. Una notizia che ci addolora profondamente, perché ci lascia un grande uomo e un grande pastore. Ho avuto il privilegio di godere della sua amicizia, dei suoi consigli e dei suoi insegnamenti, che non sono mai venuti meno neanche nei… pic.twitter.com/pkRco1tgD3

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) April 21, 2025

Francis’ body will be put on display in an open coffin in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which is considered a holy site, where most pontiffs have been buried for hundreds of years. But in accordance with his wishes, he is expected to be buried at the ancient Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is just outside the Vatican’s walls. 

Meanwhile, his successor will be chosen during a conclave, a gathering of cardinals who are charged with electing a new pope in strict seclusion at the Vatican. 

During the end of his life, Francis battled multiple health issues that left him weakened and often forced him to rely on a wheelchair or canes. Most recently, he struggled with diverticulitis and bronchitis, and at times needed aides to read his speeches because he was out of breath. He spent much of the last two months in the hospital battling pneumonia.

The Pope was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936. 

In his younger years, he worked as a bouncer and janitor, and trained as a chemist and a food technician before being ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969. 

He went up the ranks in Argentina and in 1998 was appointed head of the archdiocese. In 2001, Pope John Paul II named him to the Sacred College of Cardinals, which elects new popes. 

In 2013, Francis succeeded retired Pope Benedict XVI as the 266th pontiff, becoming the first Jesuit and non-European to hold the church’s highest office in more than 1,000 years.

Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, recalled the legacy left by Francis as the first Argentine and Latin American to lead the Catholic Church. 

“As President, as an Argentine, and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who are today dealing with this sad news,” Milei said in a post on X.

Francis took over after the church was in multiple scandals such as the clerical sex abuse crisis and financial scandals, as well as Benedict resigning, the first pope to step down in 600 years. 

However, Francis did not follow in the footsteps of Benedict, he reached out to the LGBTQ+ community, while shaking up the church bureaucracy. 

At the end of 2023, Francis announced a major radical change in Vatican policy by allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, causing controversy among Catholics and Christians. 

He also took on the church’s child sexual abuse crisis by issuing revision to the church’s laws in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who sexually abuse minors and adults. 

Francis also faced stiff resistance from archconservative American clerics when he urged people to get vaccinated against Covid.

He was also accused of softening the ban on giving Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. 

Francis was also known for some traditional clerical values. He was against abortion, saying the procedure was like “hiring a hitman to solve a problem.” The pope was also in favor of clerical celibacy and was opposed to ordaining women. 

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