Pope Francis passes away at 88

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died at the age of 88.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican's financial and administrative director, announced on Twitter that Pope Francis had passed away. He stated: "Dear brothers and sisters, with profound sorrow, I must announce the passing of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, journeyed to the eternal home."

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Argentina, was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI, and took the name Francis. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first non-European pope since Gregory III.

Pope Francis's last public appearance was on Easter, April 20, 2025, with a global call for peace, disarmament, and the release of prisoners. In his message read at the ceremony, he called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of prisoners, humanitarian access, peace in Ukraine, the South Caucasus, and the Western Balkans, disarmament, religious freedom in Africa—including Sudan, Congo, and the Sahel—and reconciliation in Myanmar.

Francis spent the final weeks of his life in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital due to respiratory issues and pneumonia.

His death marks the beginning of the formal process to elect a new pope, starting with the pope’s burial in the coming days and concluding with white smoke from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the election of a new pope.