Pope Francis in 2015.
Max Rossi | Atmosphere
Pope Francis, the Argentine Jesuit, who became the first Roman Catholic Pontiff in the Americas, has died, said the Vatican on Monday. She was 88 years old.
At a video address, Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the news. « The beloved brothers and sisters, with a deep sorrow, must announce the death of our Holy Francis Saint, » he said, according to a translation.
« At 7:35 this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the father. All his life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poor and marginalized, » said Cardinal.
« With an immense thanks for his example as a true disciple of Mr. Jesus, we congratulate the soul of Pope Francis on the infinite merciful love of the Triune god. »
Francesc died at his residence In the Santa Marta Casa del Vatican. It is expected to be buried in the basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
The pope had been in poor condition since February and was admitted to Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on February 14, 2025 with bronchitis. On February 21, his medical team said he was fighting Pneumonia on both lungs – Together with bacterial, viral and fungal infections in the part of chronic bronchitis.
He left the hospital and returned to his Vatican residence after 38 days.
Francis’s successor will be chosen during a conclave, a meeting of the College of Cardinals who are commissioned to choose the next pope.
A pope of first
Francis, who was elected in 266th Pope of the Church after the retirement of Benedict XVI in 2013, was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the middle class district of Flores in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936.
He was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope in the southern hemisphere. He was the first person from outside Europe selected to run the Church in almost 1,300 years after Pope Gregory III of Syriawhich was chosen in 731.
The son of an Italian immigrant father and an Italian Argentine mother, Francis was the largest of five children. As a student, he worked as a counselor and nightclub before becoming a chemical technician.
Francis was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969 and became head of the Order of the Society of Jesus in Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 at the 36 -year -old youth age, occupying the position until 1979.
Pope John Paul II appointed Francis to Bishop in 1992 and six years later Francis became archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2001, John Paul turned him into cardinal.
« Everyone, everything, everything! »
Francis presided over the Catholic Church for a time of increasing tension. In 2021, North -Americans elaborated a proposal that would have denied communion to the recently elected President Joe Biden for their support for abortion rights. The voting of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to draft the plan was over object From the Pope’s maximum doctrinal advisor, Cardinal Luis Ladaria.
More than two months later, Francis himself assault His opposition to the proposal of bishops in the United States, telling journalists: « Communion is not a prize for the perfect one. »
« I have never rejected the Eucharist to anyone, » the pope said, shouting the bishops to be shepherds, not politicians. « What should the shepherd do? » Continued. « Be a shepherd, don’t condemn yourself. Be a shepherd, because he is a pastor for the excommunication. »
But he also firmly declared his opposition to abortion, calling -« homicide ». « Whoever has an abortion kills, » he said.
Although Francis struggled to avoid a climbing of the cultural wars and a polarization of his herd, he offered encouraging words to the LGBTQ+Catholics. While returning to Rome from Portugal in August 2023, he told journalists that the Catholic Church was Open to everyone and that it has a duty to accompany people on their personal path of spirituality within the framework of their rules.
During an event in Portugal, Francis proposed the inclusive nature of the church by directing a crowd in a song of « all, all, all! » (Everyone, everyone, everyone!).
He was headed by 2023 saying that priests could bless Same -sex couplesAn important change in Vatican politics. The Pope said that these blessings do not resemble marriages, but that people seeking the love and mercy of God should not be subject to a « exhaustive moral analysis » to receive it.
He also wanted a greater role for women in the Church, particularly in high -ranking Vatican. In April 2023 he announced he had decided to give Women the right to vote At a next bishopric meeting. It was a first historic and achieved two goals: to give women responsibilities to make larger decisions and allow the lay people to say more to the life of the Church.
Health battles
When Francis was young, he was part of a lung withdrawn due to complications of a lung disease, a health problem Said the Vatican In 2013 he had never affected his job.
In recent years, he has had ongoing health problems, including various respiratory problems, the flu and multiple surgeries.
He was first hospitalized as a pope when he underwent a colon surgery on July 4, 2021 at Gemelli Hospital stenosis diverticular. The Vatican said the operation had been planned, but the announcement sent shock waves through the church.
It was hospitalized again at the end of March 2023 and treated by bronchitis. He set aside journalists before being expelled that he was « still alive. » Just over two months later, he had a surgery to repair a hernia.
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