Pope Francis dead aged 88: ‘Returned to the house of the father’

The Vatican has announced the death of the Pope, a day after he appeared at St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday and meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.

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Pope Francis has died, aged 88, the Vatican has announced, a day after the Pontiff appeared at St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday and met with US Vice President JD Vance.

The Pontiff was last seen in a surprise appearance on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, where he spent 20 minutes giving an apostolic blessing in Latin. A crowd of around 35,000 had gathered for the Easter mass in the Piazza which was conducted by Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

Francis briefly addressed the crowds before the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations read the Pope’s words, proclaiming: “Christ is risen.”

Despite being ordered to rest for at least a month after weeks of ill-health, after the mass had finished, Francis delighted pilgrims by driving around the crowds in his Pope-mobile as a military band played the Holy See anthem, declaring he wanted to be with his people.

The thousands of faithful in the square were thrilled to see that he had apparently recovered from the bout of pneumonia which had seen him spend more than five weeks in hospital earlier this year.

Pope Francis’s last appearance

Francis received a rapturous reception and sustained cheers as he drove through the crowds.

“Viva il Papa!” (Long live the pope), “Bravo!” The crowd shouted, according to AP. He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him.

“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” Francis said, his voice sounding stronger than it has since he was released from hospital on March 23.

The Pope’s appearance, although fragile, was considered a welcome validation that he was getting better.

But hours later on Easter Monday, the Vatican announced the news of his death.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell of the Apostolic Chamber said in a statement: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

“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. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

In a post on X, The Vatican wrote: “In his homily for Easter Sunday, Pope Francis encouraged us to not settle for the fleeting things of this world or give into sadness, but instead “we must run, filled with joy” to meet the Lord”.

From the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis, who continues his recovery from bilateral pneumonia, greeted the crowds, before the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations read the Pope’s words, proclaiming: “Christ is risen.”https://t.co/a2cWeORF3h

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 20, 2025

The Holy Father had only recently left hospital, after suffering from double pneumonia, having been ill with bronchitis, breathing difficulties and minor kidney failure.

But he appeared to be recovering well. Earlier on Sunday he had met with US Vice-President JD Vance and his family; he gave Mr Vance’s three children large Easter eggs.

“I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,” Mr Vance told the Pope. “Thank you for seeing me.”

Pneumonia battle

In recent weeks the Pope also met King Charles and Queen Camilla as well as other Italian dignitaries and politicians who were all heartened that the pope appeared to have been getting better.

He was admitted to Agostino Gemelli Policlinico Hospital in Rome on Valentine’s Day, February 14, where a chest scan showed bilateral pneumonia in his lungs which required additional drug treatment.

As the Pontiff’s life lay in the balance, the world was provided with twice daily updates from the Vatican – at Francis’s insistence.

His bronchitis deteriorated to pneumonia and from there his health became “a complex picture”, after he suffered an asthma attack and had difficulty breathing.

Last month, doctors refused to offer a prognosis of their critically ill patient – saying he was being given oxygen and blood transfusions, and was showing signs of kidney failure.

Yet there were periods when Pope Francis had “a good night” or “rested well”.

One of the Pope’s last messages before leaving hospital was a thank you to well-wishers.

Pope Francis last year. Picture: AP

“I have recently received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children,” he said. “Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world.”

Catholics from Bolivia, among other nations, had gathered outside the hospital for weeks to pray, while in the forecourt of the Gemelli hospital, around the marble statue of another pope, John Paul II, people laid flowers, cards, notes and balloons for the pontiff.

Before he left hospital, the Vatican said Pope Francis had spent the past weeks in good spirits, alternating rest with prayer and reading texts.

Last month, the Holy See said: “He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him.”

Pope’s last message

During his illness the pontiff, who was the oldest surviving Pope in a century, had cancelled his weekly prayers in St Peters Square, his weekly audience on Wednesdays and various activities associated with the Catholic Church’s jubilee celebrations.

The Pope also issued a message for Lent inviting the faithful to “journey together in hope,” and to “take the opportunity of the upcoming Lenten Season to ask ourselves whether we are truly willing to heed God’s call to change our lives”.

While a funeral date has not yet been announced, it is expected that his burial will be held next week.

Francis told a Mexican broadcaster in 2023 that he had organised for his tomb to be prepared at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore near the icon Salus populi Romani, a Byzantine painting of the Madonna and Child. He will be the first pope since Pope Leo XIII, who was entombed at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome, to be buried outside the Vatican.

The conclave to elect the new Pope will begin in around a fortnight’s time, although discreet lobbying for the new head of the Catholic Church has been going on for some time.

Australia’s recently elevated cardinal, 44-year-old Mykola Bychok, from Saints Peter and Paul in Melbourne, will be one of the eligible 138 cardinals aged under 80 to decide the new Pope.

Many of the voting cardinals had been hand-picked in recent years by Pope Francis, who bypassed the large European archdioceses in favour of smaller peripheries of the church from outside of Europe.

The pontiff was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936. It was after suffering from pneumonia in the late 1950s that he joined the Jesuit Order.

He took the papal name Francis I in 2013 to honour the 12th century friar St Francis of Assisi and became the first pope from the southern hemisphere and the first raised outside of Europe since the 8th century.

Who will replace him as the next Pope

Among the dozen possible pontiff candidates, known in Italy as “papabili”, Philippines’ Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, are considered the front runners.

Cardinal Peter Erdo from Hungary, a favourite of the now deceased cardinal George Pell, is a canon lawyer and teacher who is also popular among his peers.

Another in the frame is Fridolin Ambongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who is also the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar and who has been politically outspoken against the Congo leadership.

If the conclave sways against Pope Francis’s often controversial liberal ways, the orthodox Cardinal Robert Sarah, of Guinea, may also be a consideration.