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By Ayoofe Aiyedatiwa
Pope Francis is dead, this is hours after he made a brief appearance at St. Peter’s Square to mark Easter Sunday
He died hours after the pope’s traditional Easter address was presented
His death concidentally or perhaps significantly at Easter festival… and the Catholic Church has declared 2025 a Jubilee or holy year.
The pope’s death was announced on Monday morning by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo.
“Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” a statement from the camerlengo said.
“At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.”
Farrell continued, “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour 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 Triune God,” the statement concluded.
The announcement would have come as a shock to many, coming less than a day after the pope made a high-profile appearance in public.
While he did not appear as engaged as usual on Sunday, he still managed to address a huge crowd of worshippers.
The Mass was delivered by a high-ranking cardinal as the pontiff recovers from double pneumonia.
Minutes after Cardinal Angelo Comastri presided over the service in front of tens of thousands of Catholic Church followers, Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to bless the crowd and wish them “Happy Easter,” which drew loud cheers and applause.
Before that, he held a brief meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.
The death of Francis, who became the first Latin American pontiff in 2013 and was one of the oldest popes in the church’s history, came weeks after he was discharged from a Rome hospital having battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.
His medical team said his condition had stabilized, allowing for him to continue his convalescence at his Casa Santa Marta residence back at the Vatican
The pope’s traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) blessing was delivered by a Vatican archbishop as Francis sat in his wheelchair.
After the blessing, Francis was driven through the gathered crowd, circling St. Peter’s Square, in the open-top popemobile.
The blessing and earlier Mass, which commemorates the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was attended by some 300 cardinals, bishops and priests.
The 88-year-old left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital four weeks ago after spending more than a month in the hospital.
However, doctors say he still needs more time to recover following his life-threatening illness.
The pope’s voice remains weak, despite improvements in his breathing. He has appeared in public twice over the last week without the nasal cannula that delivered oxygen.
Francis, who is the leader of the world’s more than 1.4 billion Catholics, missed the majority of Holy Week events for the first time since his election in 2013.
They include Friday’s Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum and Saturday’s Easter vigil at Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he delegated his duties to cardinals.
He also missed the traditional foot-washing ritual on Thursday, which is meant to imitate Jesus Christ washing his disciples’ feet.
Francis did, however, make a brief appearance at St. Peter’s on Saturday to greet visitors.
Catholic Church cardinals from across the globe expected to gather in Rome in the coming days to mourn the pontiff and then elect his successor.
