Day: April 21, 2025

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Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after a prolonged illness. He was 88.

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Pope Francis died on Monday at the age of 88, the Vatican said in a video statement. This is a breaking story. Stay tuned for updates.

#popefrancis francisdeath #popefrancishealth #poepefrancislive #popefrancisdied #poefrancisnews #vaticancity newsupdates #live #popefrancis

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Pope Francis Death News: Pope Francis has died at the age of 88 after a prolonged illness, the Vatican announced on Monday.

The man was recently released from jail after he secured bail in the rape case, police said.

Pope Francis, who died Monday (April 21, 2025) aged 88, will go down in history as a radical pontiff, a champion of underdogs who forged a more compassionate Catholic Church while stopping short of overhauling centuries-old dogma.

Pope Francis passes away: LIVE Updates

Dubbed “the people’s Pope”, the Argentine pontiff loved being among his flock and was popular with the faithful, though he faced bitter opposition from traditionalists within the Church.

The first pope from the Americas and the southern hemisphere, he staunchly defended the most disadvantaged, from migrants to communities battered by climate change, which he warned was a crisis caused by humankind.

But while he confronted head-on the global scandal of sex abuse by priests, survivors’ groups said concrete measures were slow in coming.

From his election in March 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was eager to make his mark as the leader of the Catholic Church.

Also read: Many firsts of Pope Francis

He became the first pope to take the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, a 13th-century mystic who renounced his wealth and devoted his life to the poor.

“How I would like a poor church for the poor,” he said three days after his election as the 266th pope.

He was a humble figurehead who wore plain robes, eschewed the sumptuous papal palaces and made his own phone calls, some of them to widows, rape victims or prisoners.

Pope Francis says Church must ‘seek forgiveness’ for child sexual abuse

The football-loving former archbishop of Buenos Aires was also more accessible than his predecessors, chatting with young people about issues ranging from social media to pornography – and talking openly about his health.

Pope Francis always left the door open to retiring like his predecessor Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to step down.

After Benedict died in December 2022, Pope Francis became the first sitting pope in modern history to lead a papal funeral.

He suffered increasingly poor health, from colon surgery in 2021 and a hernia in June 2023 to bouts of bronchitis and knee pain that forced him to use a wheelchair.

His fourth hospitalisation, of more than a month for bronchitis in both lungs, was his longest, raising speculation he might step down.

What is the legacy behind the ‘papal’ ring?

But he brushed off talk of quitting, saying in February 2023 that papal resignations should not become “a normal thing”.

In a 2024 memoir, he wrote that resignation was a “distant possibility” justified only in the event of “a serious physical impediment”.

Kissed prisoners’ feet

Before his first Easter at the Vatican, he washed and kissed the feet of prisoners at a Rome prison.

It was the first in a series of powerful symbolic gestures that helped him achieve enthusiastic global admiration that eluded his predecessor.

For his first trip abroad, Pope Francis chose the Italian island of Lampedusa, the point of entry for tens of thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe, and slammed the “globalisation of indifference”.

Many firsts of Pope Francis

He also condemned plans by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term to build a border wall against Mexico as un-Christian.

After Trump’s re-election, Pope Francis denounced his planned migrant deportations as a “major crisis” that “will end badly”.

In 2016, with Europe’s migration crisis at a peak, Pope Francis flew to the Greek island of Lesbos and returned to Rome with three families of asylum-seeking Syrian Muslims.

Also read | Pope says Trump’s planned deportations would be ‘calamity’

He was also committed to inter-faith reconciliation, kissing the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in a historic February 2016 encounter, and making a joint call for freedom of belief with leading Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in 2019.

Pope Francis re-energised Vatican diplomacy in other ways, helping facilitate a historic rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, and encouraging the peace process in Colombia.

And he sought to improve ties with China through a historic – but criticised – 2018 accord on the naming of bishops.

Climate appeal

Experts credited Pope Francis with having influenced the landmark 2015 Paris climate accords with his “Laudato Si” encyclical, an appeal for action on climate change that was grounded in science.

He argued that developed economies were to blame for an impending environmental catastrophe, and in a fresh appeal in 2023 warned that some of the damage was “already irreversible”.

An advocate of peace, the pontiff repeatedly denounced arms manufacturers and argued that in the myriad of conflicts seen around the globe, a Third World War was underway.

Also read | Climate change and its human causes cannot be denied, papal document says

But his interventions were not always well received, and he sparked outrage from Kyiv after praising those in war-torn Ukraine who had the “courage to raise the white flag and negotiate”.

In his modest rooms in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta guesthouse, Pope Francis dealt with stress by writing down his problems in letters to Saint Joseph.

“From the moment I was elected I had a very particular feeling of profound peace. And that has never left me,” he said in 2017.

He also loved classical music and tango, stopping off once at a shop in Rome to buy records.

‘Who am I to judge?’

Pope Francis’s admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of an institution beset by scandals when he took over, helping to bring lapsed believers back into the fold.

He will be remembered as the pope who, on the subject of gay Catholics, said: “Who am I to judge?”

He allowed divorced and remarried believers to receive communion, and approved the baptism of transgender believers as well as blessings for same-sex couples.

But he dropped the idea of letting priests marry after an outcry, and despite nominating several women to leading positions inside the Vatican, he disappointed those who wanted women allowed to be ordained.

Critics accused him of tampering dangerously with tenets of Catholic teaching, and he faced strong opposition to many of his reforms.

In 2017, four conservatives cardinals made an almost unheard of public challenge to his authority, saying his changes had sown doctrinal confusion among believers.

But his Church showed no inclination to relax its ban on artificial contraception or opposition to gay marriage – and he insisted that abortion was “murder”.

Pope Francis also pushed reforms within the Vatican, from allowing cardinals to be tried by civilian courts to overhauling the Holy See’s banking system.

He also sought to address the enormously damaging issue of sex abuse by priests by meeting victims and vowing to hold those responsible accountable.

He opened up Vatican archives to civil courts and made it compulsory to report suspicions of abuse or its cover-up to Church authorities.

But critics say his legacy will be a Church that remains reluctant to hand paedophile priests over to the police.

‘Raised on pasta’

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born into an Italian emigrant family in Flores, a middle-class district of Buenos Aires, on December 17, 1936.

The eldest of five children, he was “born an Argentine but raised on pasta”, wrote biographer Paul Vallely.

From 13, he worked afternoons in a hosiery factory while studying to become a chemical technician in the mornings. Later he had a brief stint as a nightclub bouncer.

He was said to have liked dancing and girls, even coming close to proposing to one before, at age 17, he found a religious vocation.

Pope Francis later recounted a period of turmoil during his Jesuit training, when he became besotted with a woman he met at a family wedding.

By then he had survived a near-fatal infection that resulted in the removal of part of a lung. His impaired breathing scuppered his hopes of becoming a missionary in Japan.

He was ordained a priest in 1969 and appointed the provincial, or leader, of the Jesuits in Argentina just four years later. His time at the helm of the order, which spanned the country’s years of military dictatorship, was difficult.

Critics accused him of betraying two radical priests who were imprisoned and tortured by the regime.

No convincing evidence of the claim ever emerged but his leadership of the order was divisive and, in 1990, he was demoted and exiled to Argentina’s second-largest city, Cordoba.

Then, in his 50s, Bergoglio is seen by most biographers as having undergone a midlife crisis.

He emerged to embark on a new career in the mainstream of the Catholic hierarchy, reinventing himself first as the “Bishop of the Slums” in Buenos Aires and later as the pope who would break the mould.

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The death of Pope Francis on Monday (April 21, 2025) sets in motion centuries-old traditions which will culminate in the election by cardinals of a new pontiff. This includes a nine-day mourning period, an elaborate burial, and the election of a new leader for the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis death LIVE updates

At the end of the process, a Pope will be selected in a high-stakes election dramatised in the Oscar-nominated thriller “Conclave,” with progressive and conservative cardinals vying for control of an institution with a billion followers globally.

Here we explains what happens in the Vatican City, where the College of Cardinals gathers to elect a new pope.

Pope Francis, first Latin-American to head the Catholic Church, passes away at 88

Confirmation of Pope’s death

The Camerlengo (Cardinal Chamberlain) – currently Kevin Joseph Farrell, a 77-year-old American of Irish origin, – officially confirms Pope’s death, traditionally by tapping his head three times with small silver hammer and calling out his name.

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell
| Photo Credit:
AFP

He will become the Vatican’s de facto administrator till a new Pope is elected.

End of Pope Francis’ reign

When a pontiff dies, his signet ring – known as the fisherman’s ring – is smashed, signifying the end of his reign. Papal apartments are sealed off and Vatican announces death to world.

Pope Francis’ signet ring – Fisherman’s Ring.

Mourning

Pope’s death triggers Novendiale – nine days of mourning. Italy will also declare national mourning. The Pope’s body will be dressed in papal vestments and brought to the Pope’s private chapel.

Pope Francis has asked not to be put on display atop catafalque in St. Peter’s Basilica, as customary. Instead, his body will be left inside casket, with lid off for visitors to pay their respects.

Meanwhile, the Vatican enters a transitional period called sede vacante (period between the death of a pope and the election of a new one), during which rule of church is temporarily handed over to College of Cardinals.

Burial

Funeral will be led by dean of College of Cardinals – currently Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Funeral of Pope usually takes place four to six days after his death and funeral rites in various churches in Rome will last nine days.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re leads a prayer service at St. Peter’s Square.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Traditionally, pope is buried in the Vatican Grottoes, beneath St. Peter’s Basilica. But Pope Francis wants to be buried at Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, making him first pontiff to be interred outside Vatican in more than a century.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal basilicas in Rome.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Popes are entombed in three interlocking caskets, made of cypress, lead and oak. Francis wishes to be buried in a single, zinc-lined wooden coffin. The coffin is closed the night before the funeral.

The Conclave

Two to three weeks after Pope’s funeral, the College of Cardinals will convene in the Sistine Chapel to hold a secretive process of electing new pope.

Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel before the start of the conclave, at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
| Photo Credit:
AP

When the cardinals meet, they gather in the Sistine Chapel. All cardinal electors must swear an oath of secrecy and vote by secret ballot. Camerlengo, who will preside over the ballot, will seal the Chapel. Only cardinals under age 80 are eligible to vote. They are not allowed to leave the conclave except in rare cases.

A two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new pope, and politicking is part of the process. After every vote, the ballot papers are burned in a stove, along with chemicals that produce a color, and the smoke is released through a chimney that can be seen from St. Peter’s Square. If no cardinal wins vote, ballots are burned to produce black smoke. The cardinals cast repeated votes until a two-thirds majority emerges. When a decision is reached, the smoke will be white.

Habemus Papam!

Once the Pope is chosen, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks the chosen successor if he accepts the role. After receiving an affirmative response, the dean then asks for the name he wishes to take as pope.

After he greets the Cardinals, he will move onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, from where a representative from College reads out Latin announcement: “Habemus papam” (We have a Pope). New Pope will step out to give first public address.

Sources: Vatican, Politico, Reuters, Graphic News

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Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the age of 88, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday.He was 88, and had suffered various ailments in his 12-year papacy.

"This morning at 7:35 am (0535 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father," said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in the statement published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.

On Sunday, Pope Francis called for freedom of thought and tolerance in his Easter Sunday address.

After giving his Easter greetings to the crowd, estimated at more than 35,000 people, from the basilica’s balcony, Francis delegated the reading of his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the City and the World") benediction to an associate.

"There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others," read his speech, which also condemned "worrisome" anti-Semitism, and the "dramatic and deplorable" situation in Gaza.

#popefrancis francisdeath #popefrancishealth #poepefrancislive #popefrancisdied #poefrancisnews #vaticancity newsupdates #live #popefrancis

Hindustan Times Videos brings all the News for the Global Indian under one umbrella. We break down news from across the globe from the unique lens of a Rising India. Tune in for Explainers, Opinions, Analysis and a 360 degree view of big events in India and the World which impact your present and future.

Follow the Hindustan Times Channel on WhatsApp for News Alerts, Top Stories and Editor picks. Join Us Today – https://www.bit.ly/3PQ4kSv

Subscribe to the Hindustan Times YT channel and press the bell icon to get notified when we go live.

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Pope Francis has died at the age of 88 after a prolonged illness, the Vatican announced on Monday. The pontiff, who was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, became pope in 2013 after his predecessor, Benedict XVI, resigned.

Pope Francis, the religious head of 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, has died. He was 88. He suffered from various age-related ailments and was hospitalised for over a month.

Pope Francis’ Death: Pope Francis, the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, has died today at 88 after battling various ailments for some time, the Vatican News announced.

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