Resurrection of the Lord Catholic Church

On the evening of Pope Francis’ death, a rite confirmed his passing and the placing of his body in the coffin took place in the chapel of his Vatican residence.

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We publish the preface that the late Pope Francis wrote on February 7 for the book in Italian by Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, titled “Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age.” The volume, published by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV), will be available in bookstores starting Thursday, April 24.

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An evening Rosary was held in St. Peter’s Square in suffrage for Pope Francis, who passed away this morning. Leading the Marian prayer was the Archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica and Vicar General for Vatican City, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.

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Pope Francis had a big heart for Africa and Africans. He leaves behind a legacy of commitment to Africa’s quest for peace, social justice, and integral development. To crown it all, the Pope’s solidarity with African refugees and migrants, the poor, and the marginalised will live on.

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The Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, releases the official medical report on the death of Pope Francis, which was confirmed through electrocardiographic thanatography.

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Pope Francis' testament, dated 29 June 2022, has been published, giving indications for his burial in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

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A solemn Mass for Pope Francis on the day of his death is celebrated at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. In his homily, Cardinal Baldo Reina upholds the late Pope’s legacy of mercy, peace, and service, and encourages the faithful to carry forward his example with hope in the Resurrection.

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The messages coming in from world leaders and religious authorities following the death of Pope Francis demonstrate the universality of the Pope of the peripheries, who strove to be close to all as he headed the See of Peter.

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WASHINGTON – Upon the news from the Holy See announcing the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement in remembrance:

Pope Francis will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society. He renewed for us the mission to bring the Gospel out to the ends of the earth and offer divine mercy to all. He has also taken advantage of the present Jubilee to call us to a profound hope: one that is not an empty or naïve hope, but one grounded in the promise of Almighty God to be with us always. 

Even with his roots in the Piedmont region of Italy, the first Pope from our American Continent was marked by his experience as a Jesuit and a shepherd in Buenos Aires. He brought that experience and vision with him to his ministry for the universal Church.

Recently, he expressed anew prayerful hope in his letter of support to the Bishops of this country in our attempts to respond to the face of Christ in the migrant, poor, and unborn. In fact, he has always used the strongest and clearest expressions in the defense of the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death.

I last saw him at the Jubilee Mass for the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel. Despite the challenges of his health, he was with us and even used a slight gesture to salute the group of bishops who concelebrated the Mass before he boarded the vehicle to return to Santa Marta.

The passage from this life of the Bishop of Rome calls us to pray for his eternal rest and to continue on our path to a deeper union with the Lord Jesus. We remember his leadership in inspiring nations, organizations, and individuals to a renewed commitment to care for each other and our common home. 

The Bishops of the United States unite in prayer with Catholics here and around the world and all people of good will in gratitude for the life of our revered shepherd. We mourn the passing of our Holy Father and beg Saint Joseph to accompany him. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis died April 21 after suffering a stroke and heart failure, said the director of Vatican City State's department of health services. The pope had also gone into a coma.

"I certify that His Holiness Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, resident of Vatican City, Vatican citizen, passed away at 7:35 a.m. on 4/21/2025 in his apartment at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Vatican City, from: cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiovascular collapse," said the statement, signed by the director, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, and published by the Vatican press office. 

The doctor said the pope also had a history of: "a previous episode of acute respiratory failure due to polymicrobial bilateral pneumonia; multiple bronchiectases; arterial hypertension; and type II diabetes."

A heart monitor or ECG was used to ascertain his death, that is, that there was no longer any heart activity, he wrote on the signed declaration.

The doctor also read the statement aloud during a special prayer service that began at 8 p.m. local time April 21 in the late pope's residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. 

U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, presided over the rite, which included the formal verification of the pope's death, the placement of his body in a coffin, and its transfer to the chapel on the first floor of his residence. The pope died in his third-floor apartment at 7:35 a.m. April 21.

Others present at the closed-door ceremony included Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals; the late pope's aides, assistants and members of the papal household; Dr. Arcangeli; and Dr. Luigi Carbone, deputy director of the Vatican's health department and the pope's personal physician. 

This was the first of three rites that are divided into three "stations" based on the place they occur: "at home, in the Vatican basilica and at the burial place," according to the "Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis" ("Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff"). There will be separate services for transferring the body to St. Peter's Basilica, the funeral, the burial and the memorial Masses that follow the funeral for the next eight days.

The Vatican press office confirmed that, according to instructions guiding what happens after the death of a pope, the funeral and burial should take place "between the fourth and sixth day after death," which would be between April 25 and 27.

The exact date will be determined at a meeting of all the cardinals able to reach the Vatican immediately after the papal death. The first meeting was being held at 9 a.m. April 22 in the Vatican Synod Hall.

The press office said the coffin would probably be brought to St. Peter's Basilica April 23 for public viewing and prayer before the funeral. Instead of lying on a catafalque, that is, a kind of decorated platform, the body will be placed inside a zinc-lined coffin, which will remain open until the night before the funeral, which will be celebrated by Cardinal Re.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story listed one of the causes of death as "heart attack" when it should have said "heart failure." We apologize for the error.