Pope Francis Passed Away at 88. The Vatican Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell Reports

Pope Francis diest at the age of 88 as the world of Catholics are mourning the passing away of the Head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pontiff was hospitalised after suffering a bout of bronchitis last week. 

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was suffering from an early age with health issues, the Vatican reveals the news in a video. “Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.

The Pope was reported to have passed away at 7:35 AM, the Monday after Easter Sunday. Born in 1936 as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, his Papacy began in 2013. A longstanding lung issue from a young age, Pope Francis suffered with three years of life- threatening pneumonia and three cysts, his health naturally worsened at the elderly age. 

His last public appearance was a meeting with the US Vice President JD Vance who met the Pope at the Vatican yesterday (20 April 2025) during his visit to Italy. 

The death of Pope Francis will set off a series of sacred, time-honoured procedures in the Vatican, traditions that are rooted and have been followed by several sovereigns. These procedures will unfold in distinct stages, along with the established methods and rituals of the funeral proceedings.