“Returned to the Father’s House”: Pope Francis Has Died

On April 21, 2025, on Bright Monday, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88. The pontiff departed this life at 7:35 a.m. in his residence, Domus Santa Marta, in the Vatican. The official announcement was made by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo of the Holy See, who declared that “the Bishop of Rome, Francis, has returned to the Father’s house.” This was reported by the press office of the Holy See.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires to a family of Italian immigrants. He initially trained as a chemical technician before receiving a theological education. In 1958, he joined the Jesuit order and was ordained a priest in 1969.

Francis was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, following the voluntary resignation of Benedict XVI. He became the first Jesuit Pope and the first Pope from the New World in history.

In January 2025, Pope Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis, and by mid-February, his health had deteriorated—he was hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia. He was discharged only in March.

The pontiff’s last public appearance took place on April 20—on Easter Sunday he delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message to the faithful from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

As a reminder, on April 4, 2025, a telephone conversation took place between Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, and Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The parties discussed details of resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war.