Pope Francis dies at 88

Pope Francis tours St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, hours before his death

The pope tours St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, hours before his death

(Image credit: Stefano Costantino / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)

published 21 April 2025

What happened

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff and first pope from Latin America, died Monday morning. He was 88 and had been in poor health since an extended hospital stay for double pneumonia.

"At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father," after a life "dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church," said Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, or de facto administrator of the Holy See after a pope's death. "For Pope Francis, it was always to extend the arms of the church to embrace all people, not to exclude anyone." The pope had appeared in public Sunday to bless tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday.

During his 12-year papacy, Francis "charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change" and his incremental elevation of women in the church and embrace of LGBTQ+ Catholics, The Associated Press said. He shook up the Catholic Church "without changing its core doctrine," shifting its focus to be a "refuge for everyone."

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Pope Francis' death "will set off mourning around the world and deliberations and machinations to choose a successor" through a "chain of rituals and procedures, many of which have remained unchanged for centuries," The New York Times said. The College of Cardinals will have to decide "whether to choose a new pope who will follow his welcoming, global approach or to restore the more doctrinaire path" forged over "more than three decades of conservative papacies." Francis named 111 of the 136 voting cardinals, The Washington Post said, "making sure the conclave that would pick his successor was more diverse and less dominated by Europeans."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.