Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has died.
Pope Francis, 88, who was recovering from double pneumonia, died at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.
“At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
The first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church did not attend the annual Good Friday procession for the third year in a row. The Pope made a brief appearance at a private meeting with US’s Vice President JD Vance on Sunday morning.
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In April 2024, the late Pope Francis approved an updated edition of the liturgical book for papal funeral rites, which will guide the funeral Mass which has yet to be announced. The second edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis introduces several new elements, including how the Pope’s mortal remains are to be handled after death. The ascertainment of death takes place in the chapel, rather than in the room where he died, and his body is immediately placed inside the coffin.
According to Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Apostolic Ceremonies, the late Pope Francis had requested that the funeral rites be simplified and focused on expressing the faith of the Church in the Risen Body of Christ.Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) was the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian pope Gregory III.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor before training to become a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe case of pneumonia and cysts, he was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969.
Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God’s mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor and commitment to inter-religious dialogue. He is known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors by, for instance, choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes.
Francis has made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia. He maintains that the Catholic Church should be more sympathetic toward members of the LGBT community and has stated that while blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, the individuals can be blessed as long as blessings are not given in a liturgical context. Francis is a critic of unbridled capitalism, consumerism, and overdevelopment; he has made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy. He is widely interpreted as denouncing the death penalty as intrinsically evil and has termed it “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and “inadmissible”, stating additionally that the Catholic Church is committed to its abolition. There can be “no going back from this position”, he observed.
Frontrunners for papacy
Once the pope resigns or passes away, a conclave takes place in the Sistine Chapel of Vatican where the 253 cardinals from around the world participate in the voting rounds, to determine the next head. For the rounds of voting, cardinals who are above the age of 80, will not be able to participate.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu
65-year-old Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu allowed priests to bless same-sex couples and unmarried people by declaring the doctrine of Fiducia Supplicans. He was made a cardinal in 2019.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Serving as the Pro-Prefect for the Section of First Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization and President of the Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is 67 years old and is from Philippines. Known as the ‘Asian Pope Francis’, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been critical of how LGBT people, divorced and remarried Catholics are treated by the Church. He was made a cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Mario Grech
Cardinal Mario Grech is from Malta and is 67 years old; he is currently the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Cardinal Mario Grech has spoken about the importance of talking to those who had been excluded from the Church for their marital status or sexual preference. It was Pope Francis who made him a cardial in 2020.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
Hailing from Italy and born in Rome, 69-year-old Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference and has also served in an important position of Archbishop of Bologna, Italy. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is said to be a Pope Francis-favourite and was made a cardinal by him in 2019.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
70-year-old Cardinal Pietro Parolin served in Pope Francis’ Vatican for 11 years as the Secretary of State and is considered to be moderately political. Pope Francis made his cardinal in 2014.
Cardinal Wim Eijk
Cardinal Wim Eijk is a former doctor from The Netherlands and is regarded as one of the most conservative frontrunners for the position. He had helped in writing the ‘Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family’ which was against Francis’ endorsement of civil remarriages. He was made a cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Peter Erdo
72-year-old Cardinal Peter Erdo from Hungary is the ex-President of the Council of Bishop’s Conference of Europe. A conservative, Cardinal Peter Erdo opposed Holy Communion being received by divorced or remarried Catholics. He has also been against European countries accepting refugees. Pope John Paul II made Cardinal Peter Erdo a cardinal in 2003.
Cardinal Raymond Burke
Cardinal Raymond Burke, 76-year-old arch-conservative in the church from USA, is a former Archbishop of St. Louis; he has spoken against Pope Francis at several points including the Church’s new language around gays, civil marriages and artificial contraception. He was made a cardinal in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: Reuters)
