Pope Francis, Catholic Church trailblazer and first Latin American pope, dies
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- Pope Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88.
- Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis had long been involved in religious leadership.
- He was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Americas.
Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, just over 12 years after assuming the role. He was 88.
"Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta," the Vatican said in a statement on X on Monday.
Francis navigated several health-related issues during his life, including a respiratory infection that resulted in removing part of his right lung when he was 21.
In 2023, the Vatican announced he was admitted to a Rome-based hospital for bronchitis. While hospitalized, doctors diagnosed Francis with a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection. Further tests showed he also developed pneumonia.
In February, Francis was hospitalized with a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis began his papacy on March 13, 2013. He was the first Jesuit pope to be elected by the papal conclave in the Vatican, replacing Pope Benedict XVI.
Francis was also the first pope from the Americas; he was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he served in many top religious positions, including as the archbishop.
In the summer of 2022, Francis hinted at retirement, citing his health.
"I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save [my energy] to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside," he told reporters in July 2022.
"It's not strange. It's not a catastrophe," Francis added. "You can change the pope."
As pope, Francis bucked some establishment trends but also toed the line. He condemned the Catholic Church's sex abuse cover-ups, but he also said it was unfair to single out the church.
He often advocated for migrants and refugees, spoke about the climate crisis, and criticized capitalism.
In recent years, he expressed support for civil union laws for same-sex couples, advocated for "the global abolition of the death penalty," and called the treatment of Indigenous students at Canadian church-affiliated boarding schools "genocide."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.