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22-04-2025
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died aged 88
There’s palpable shock at the Vatican, where the Pope had addressed crowds at an Easter Sunday service, Sofia Bettiza reports
Tributes pour in from world leaders, including from King Charles, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and JD Vance, who briefly met the Pope on Sunday
The Vatican confirmed the pontiff died at 07:35 local time on Monday; he was recently discharged from hospital after weeks of treatment for an infection
Following the death of Pope Francis, Cardinal Kevin Farrell became the acting head of the Roman Catholic Church, a role he will hold until a new pope is elected.
Cardinal Farrell announced the death of the Pope this morning.
Farrell is currently the “camerlengo”, the person who runs the Vatican from the death or resignation of one pope to the election of another.
He will also preside over the “rite of the confirmation of death” and place the Pope’s body in a coffin.
Dublin-born Farrell attended the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was appointed Bishop of Dallas in 2007 before Pope Francis called on him to serve as the leader of the Vatican’s new department responsible for the pastoral care of families and raised him to the rank of cardinal.
In 2019, Pope Francis nominated him Camerlengo of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires was packed with people wanting to pay their respects to the late Pope.
Pope Francis served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 until he was elected Pope in 2013 and this cathedral was where he worshipped and celebrated many a Mass.
The faithful filed past a photo of a smiling Pope Francis placed on a black cloth.
Many kneeled throughout the Mass.
Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Garcia Cuerva told those attending that the best tribute they could pay to the Pope would be “to come together and stop confronting each other all the time”.
“All of us have to be a bit more like Francis. We have to realize that the Church has to be a place for everyone, we can’t discriminate against anyone or leave anyone out,” he added.
Earlier, the Vatican announced his death a day after he appeared in a wheelchair at St Peter’s Square to lead an Easter address in front of thousands of worshipers.
The Pope’s death follows a period of ill-health that saw him spend five weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.
Services have been held around the world as the word’s 1.4bn Catholics begin to mark the Pope’s death, and mourners have started to arrive at the Vatican.
Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected as Pope in 2013.
In a statement published by the Vatican early on Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell said; “this morning at 07:35 local time (05:35 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was devoted in service to 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 poorest and most marginalized.
“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.” (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
