His Holiness Pope Francis Dies

Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires. He was the eldest of five children from Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori.

Bergoglio joined the Jesuit Order in 1958, and rose to become Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997. In 2001, Pope John Paul made him a Cardinal, installing him as cardinal-priest of San Roberto Bellarmino on 14 October.

Francis was selected as Ponitfex by the Papal Conclave in 2013 after the retirement of Pope Benedict. He was the first Jesuit Pope and the first non-european Pope since Gregory III in 741.

Francis died at the age of 88 on Easter Monday, 21 April 2025, at 07:35 CEST (0135 Eatern) in his residence in Domus Sanctae Marthae. His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell on the Vatican’s TV channel and in a video statement. The exact circumstances of his death are yet to be disclosed, although Italian sources unofficially reported that the death was caused by a brain-related issue, likely a stroke. The Pope had not been in good health of late, and was recently hospitalized for a bout of pneumonia.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.