Pope Francis, the trailblazing Catholic leader known for his human-rights advocacy and sharp political edge, died Monday, April 21, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after battling a long series of health complications stemming from a chronic lung disease, the Vatican announced.
The pontiff had been hospitalized on Feb. 14 with bronchitis, contracted pneumonia four days later and was listed in “critical condition” by the Vatican on Saturday, Feb. 22. He never fully recovered.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” said the cardinal chamberlain, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of 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.”
The Pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina in 1936, broke barriers in the Catholic Church when he became the first leader of the Vatican City State to hail from the Americas, and the first to represent the Jesuit order, an intellectual wing of the church that prioritizes philanthropy.
He was also the first pope ever to address Congress, visiting Capitol Hill in 2015, when he urged lawmakers of all stripes to set aside their differences for the sake of helping the world’s poor and disadvantaged.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a devout Catholic, lionized Francis, portraying him as the perfect embodiment of the gospel of Matthew, which urges charity for those most in need.
“He has followed that lead,” Pelosi said. “He has, intellectually, been brilliant in taking the discussion to a place that is almost heavenly.”
Initially, Francis studied to be a chemical technician before entering the priesthood in 1958 and eventually rising to become the Jesuit Archbishop of Buenos Aires, according to his official Vatican bio. He was elected Supreme Pontiff in March of 2013, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who had stepped down a month earlier citing advanced age.
Francis had an extraordinary reputation as “the People’s Pope” for his humility and focus on social justice and global equality. Throughout his time at the Vatican, he broke tradition and would leave the grounds to personally wash the feet of prisoners, refugees, people with disabilities, women and Muslims. He rejected the ornate parts of the papacy, dressing simply and living in the Vatican City guest house instead of the traditional Apostolic Palace.
He changed church rules to include women in the feet-washing ceremonies and even once he was wheelchair-bound, over the last year, he washed women’s feet at a prison in Rome in a striking scene of modesty.
The gestures of humility endeared Francis to liberals inside and outside the Catholic Church, who hailed the Pope for his unconventional decision to jump head-first into thorny political fights, frequently on behalf of minorities.
“In my lifetime, this is the only pope that touched me,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), a Methodist minister.
“He quoted the scriptures as it relates to immigration: ‘Jesus told us to be welcoming to the stranger.’ On issues of race: ‘We are of one god,’” Cleaver continued. “I started crying when I went to meet him. It was just electrifying.”
Not everyone was so enthralled.
Francis’s controversial political postures put him on a collision course with the traditionalist cardinals at the Vatican and conservative bishops around the globe. And those qualms were echoed by right-leaning Catholics across the United States, many of whom thought Francis strayed too far from the church’s long-held orthodoxies, particularly on social issues.
“He’s the pope, he’s our leader, but I think he’s a little more liberal than I would have liked,” said Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.).
Francis broke with church tradition with his welcoming stance toward LGBTQ people, famously responding, “Who am I to judge?” in 2013 when asked about a gay Catholic priest. He took major steps in 2023 when he signed a doctrine to allow transgender people to be baptized and approved church blessings for same-sex couples.
The Pope also was tasked with facing the history of sexual abuse scandals and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, saying in 2022 that he has “zero tolerance” for abuse by members of the clergy and listening to survivors in September, who wanted reparations for their trauma.
On other issues, though, Francis stood steady with tradition — and infuriated liberal Catholics in the process. He took firm stances, for instance, on issues like gender-reaffirming surgery, calling it a grave violation. And he considered abortion “murder,” despite telling former President Biden that he should keep receiving communion.
Biden, who was the second Catholic president in U.S. history, received pushback from conservative U.S. Catholic Bishops for supporting access to reproductive rights, with some claiming he should be denied communion. He met with the Pope multiple times throughout his presidency and the two had a close, supportive relationship.
Biden then bestowed the Presidential Medal of Honor with distinction, the U.S.’s highest civilian award, upon Pope Francis before leaving office. He was expected to visit with the Pope in Rome during his last month in office, but cancelled the trip because of the wildfires in California.
The Pope weighed in on the 2024 election, calling on American Catholics to choose the “lesser evil” of the candidates between President Trump and former Vice President Harris.
“Who is the lesser evil, the woman or man? I don’t know,” he said in September.
Francis famously took issue with Republicans’ handling of immigration, voicing the view of the Catholic Church that migrants should be welcomed and treated with dignity. He wrote a letter in February criticizing Trump’s mass deportation plans, arguing they leave people vulnerable and defenseless and called for laws to help the most marginalized.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, criticized the Pope at the time, saying he should focus on fixing the Catholic Church and leave border enforcement policies to the administration. But those same positions were hailed by immigrant rights advocates, including Democrats on Capitol Hill.
“He was the first Jesuit, and that brings with it a philosophy of helping the poor and concentrating on issues like hunger and world-wide poverty and ending wars,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “His legacy is an important one.”
Part of that legacy was the visit to the U.S. in 2015, when Francis was greeted by former President Obama and then-Vice President Biden and addressed a joint session of Congress. Former House Speaker John Boehner, another devout Catholic, had extended the invitation to Capitol Hill. The very next day, Boehner announced his imminent resignation, citing the Pope’s visit as the capstone of his career.
On that same U.S. visit, he also traveled to Philadelphia to wash the feet of inmates inside a prison and to meet with victims of sexual abuse.
His death kicks off the centuries-old Catholic ritual of mourning and selecting a new leader of the church. Former Pope Benedict died in 2022 and the last sitting head of the Vatican to die was Pope John Paul II in 2005.
Upon death, which is confirmed by ringing bells outside the Vatican, the Pope is brought to a private chapel by Farrell for his family to mourn. Francis rewrote the funeral rites in 2024 to simplify them, nixing a private viewing for cardinals and church hierarchy and asking for a public viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica with his coffin not raised on a pedestal.
He also called for one single coffin made of wood, as opposed to three coffins that other popes have used, and to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, as opposed to in St. Peter’s with other popes, according to The New York Times. Cardinals will then gather for what is known as “a conclave” 15 to 20 days after his death to select a new pope.
The traditional deliberations inside the Sistine Chapel are veiled in secrecy and all cardinals under 80 years old can vote in a secret ballot. Once a pope is elected by a majority count, white smoke is released through a chimney.
