Pope Francis in 2015.
Max Rossi | Reuters
Pope Francis, the Argentine Jesuit who became the first Roman Catholic pontiff from the Americas, has died, the Vatican said Monday. He was 88.
In a video address, Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the news. “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” he said, according to a translation.
“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 faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and the marginalized,” the Cardinal said.
“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.”
Francis, who was elected the church’s 266th pope after the retirement of Benedict XVI in 2013, was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the middle-class neighborhood of Flores in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936.
He was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere. He was the first person from outside Europe selected to lead the church in nearly 1,300 years, after Pope Gregory III of Syria, who was chosen in 731.
The son of an Italian immigrant father and an Italian Argentine mother, Francis was the eldest of five children. As a student, he worked as a janitor and nightclub bouncer before becoming a chemical technician.
Francis was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969 and became head of the Society of Jesus order in Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 at the youthful age of 36, holding the position until 1979.
Pope John Paul II appointed Francis a bishop in 1992, and six years later Francis became archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2001 John Paul made him a cardinal.
‘Todos, todos, todos!’
Francis presided over the Catholic Church during a time of rising tension. In 2021, U.S. bishops drafted a proposal that would have denied communion to newly elected President Joe Biden for his support of abortion rights. The vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to draft the plan came over objections from the pope’s top doctrinal advisor, Cardinal Luis Ladaria.
More than two months later, Francis himself strongly hinted his opposition to the proposal by the U.S. bishops, telling reporters: “Communion is not a prize for the perfect.”
“I have never refused the eucharist to anyone,” the pope said, calling on bishops to be pastors, not politicians. “What must the pastor do?” he continued. “Be a pastor, don’t go condemning. Be a pastor, because he is a pastor also for the excommunicated.”
But he also firmly stated his opposition to abortion, calling it “homicide.” “Whoever has an abortion kills,” he said.
Although Francis strived to avoid an escalation of the culture wars and a polarization of his flock, he offered encouraging words to LGBTQ+ Catholics. While flying back to Rome from Portugal in August 2023, he told reporters that the Catholic Church was open to all and that it has a duty to accompany people on their personal path of spirituality within the framework of its rules.
During one event in Portugal, Francis touted the inclusive nature of the church by leading a crowd in a chant of “Todos, todos, todos!” (Everyone, everyone, everyone!).
He capped off 2023 by saying priests could bless same-sex couples, a major change in Vatican policy. The pope said such blessings shouldn’t resemble marriages, but that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.
He also wanted a greater role for women in the church, particularly in high-ranking Vatican positions. In April 2023, he announced that he had decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops. It was a historic first and accomplished two goals: giving women greater decision-making responsibilities and allowing laypeople more say in the life of the church.
Health battles
When Francis was a young man, he had part of a lung removed because of complications from a pulmonary illness, a health issue the Vatican said in 2013 had never affected his work.
In recent years, he had ongoing health issues, including various respiratory problems, the flu, and multiple surgeries.
He was hospitalized for the first time as pope when he underwent colon surgery on July 4, 2021, at Gemelli hospital for diverticular stenosis. The Vatican said the operation had been planned, but the announcement sent shock waves through the church.
He was hospitalized again in late March 2023 and treated for bronchitis. He quipped to journalists before being driven away that he was “still alive.” Just over two months later, he had surgery to repair a hernia.
