Vatican City – At 9:45 AM on Easter Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, spoke these words at the Casa Santa Marta.
“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 favor of the poorest and most marginalized. 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, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, died on Monday at the age of 88, the Vatican confirmed via an official statement on X (formerly Twitter).
His passing comes just one day after he made a surprise final appearance on Easter Sunday blessing the faithful from his wheelchair in St. Peter’s Square, his fragile body a stark contrast to the firebrand reformer he had long been.
But even in his final hours, Francis was a symbol of paradox, humility and power, fragility and defiance, love and controversy.
Francis wasn’t just the first Latin American pope or the first Jesuit pope, he was the first pontiff in modern history to completely tear up the script.
From the moment he stepped onto the Vatican balcony in March 2013 and offered the world a humble “Buona sera” instead of the customary papal benediction, it was clear that this was no ordinary pope.
“I want a poor Church, for the poor,” he declared and he meant it.
He chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, signaling his intent to realign the Church with simplicity, humility and radical compassion.
He ditched the papal palace for a modest guesthouse. Traded the bulletproof Mercedes for a battered Ford Focus. Washed the feet of prisoners including Muslim women on Holy Thursday. And most iconically, uttered the words that rocked the Catholic world.
“Who am I to judge?”
Pope Francis’ legacy was defined by bold moves, irritating both ends of the Church’s ideological spectrum by allowing the blessing of same-sex couples, appointing more women to Vatican leadership roles than any pope before, rewriting parts of the Catechism to label capital punishment “prohibited” and openly condemning climate change as a sin in his 2015 encyclical ‘Laudato Si’
Traditionalist bishops, especially in the U.S., branded him a heretic. Some even questioned the legitimacy of his papal decrees. Cardinal Raymond Burke went so far as to accuse Francis of “confusing the faithful.“
Meanwhile, liberals accused him of not going far enough particularly for refusing to ordain women or openly support same-sex marriage.
Francis inherited a Vatican riddled with rot, financial scandals, sexual abuse cover-ups, and an internal bureaucracy notorious for backroom politics.
Still, critics say he didn’t do enough. Survivors of sexual abuse demanded more than apologies and symbolic firings. Some viewed his reforms as too soft, too slow. Yet his unwavering focus on mercy, inclusion and moral clarity won him global respect even from non-Catholics.
Despite recurring lung infections, knee surgeries, and intestinal troubles, Francis remained a tireless traveler in his final years.
With the College of Cardinals now stacked with his appointees, Francis has virtually ensured that his vision will live on at least in the short term.
But the ideological tug-of-war within the Church is far from over. In 2022, Pope Francis offered what now sounds like his legend and he didn’t just break chains. He shattered them.
“We Are Often Chained…” “We are often chained like Peter in the prison of habit. Scared by change and tied to the chain of our customs.”
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