Pope Francis: Reflecting on his legacy and final farewell
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. Jorge Mario Bergoglio led the Catholic Church from 13 March 2013. The Argentine Jesuit often became unwell towards the end of his papacy. The latest significant health issues emerged in the first half of February 2025.
"Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta," reported the official Vatican News service.
Pope Francis died on Monday at 5:35 am GMT, announced Cardinal Kevin Farrell in a statement issued by the Vatican press office.
"Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 [Vatican time] this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father," informed Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
"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 favor of the poorest and most marginalised," added Cardinal Farrell.
He emphasised: "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."
Pope Francis was with the faithful until the very end. On Maundy Thursday, he maintained the tradition and, in a gesture of closeness, visited a prison. He remained with the faithful on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
Pope Francis died at the age of 88
On 14 February 2025, he was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic with symptoms of severe bronchitis. Less than five days later, bilateral pneumonia was diagnosed.
Due to upper respiratory tract infections, which he had increasingly experienced in recent years, the Pope was also admitted to Gemelli in late March 2023. There, two years earlier, in July 2021, he underwent intestinal surgery.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio began his papal service on 13 March 2013. At the time, it was said that the 76-year-old Argentine Jesuit was a compromise choice and, due to his age, a "transitional" pope. He took the name after St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the poor and destitute.
From Buenos Aires to the Vatican
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in 1936 in a poor district of Buenos Aires to a family of Italian immigrants who fled to Argentina from Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. He was educated as a chemist and joined the Jesuit order at the age of 22. He had five siblings.
Bergoglio studied in schools in Chile, Argentina, and the USA. There he learned philosophy, literature, and psychology. He was ordained a priest on 13 December 1969. From 1964 to 1965, he was a teacher of literature and psychology. From 1967 to 1970, he studied theology at the Faculty of Theology in Colegio Máximo San José in San Miguel. The future pope was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992. He became the archbishop of that diocese five years later. In 2001, John Paul II promoted him to the rank of cardinal, giving him the title of the presbyter of San Roberto Bellarmino.
Close to the Holy See
In 2005, Bergoglio was mentioned as one of the favourites to take the Holy See. However, the conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) as the head of the Apostolic See, who resigned from the position on 11 February 2013 due to, as he stated, deteriorating health and lack of strength.
On 13 March 2013, during the second day of the conclave, in the fifth ballot, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as pope.
Pope Francis quickly introduced changes in the functioning of the papal institution. He primarily chose not to live in the traditional residence, the Apostolic Palace, opting instead to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. He spoke several languages: Spanish, Italian, German, French, Piedmontese, and English, and had some knowledge of Portuguese.
Did Pope Francis achieve a breakthrough?
Francis was the first pope not to take the name of any of his predecessors. He published three encyclicals. In "Laudato Si'", later called "the green encyclical," he strongly emphasised the importance of caring for the planet and its climate. The encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" was concerned with brotherhood and social friendship. The first one, "Lumen Fidei," was about faith. Pope Francis also issued several apostolic exhortations and dozens of documents: apostolic letters and motu proprio.
On his initiative, the Council of Cardinals was established. It was the first such body in the Vatican, and like the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, it was intended as a response to the clerical abuse scandals.
As the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis found himself in a unique situation for years. His retired predecessor, Benedict XVI, until his death on 31 December 2022, was residing alongside him in the Vatican, in a residence in the former convent building. Their meetings, including the first one immediately after the election in Castel Gandolfo, have become an integral part of Church history.
