When and the way did Pope Francis die? A take a look at the pontiff’s final days

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday on the age of 88.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I have to announce the loss of life of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell introduced on Monday.

“At 7:35 this morning [05:35 GMT], the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His total life was devoted to the service of the Lord and of His Church,” he mentioned.

Here’s what we all know concerning the loss of life of the Argentinian pontiff, the primary in historical past from Latin America, who led the Catholic Church for greater than 12 years.

How did the pope die?

Pope Francis died of a stroke adopted by a coma and coronary heart failure on Monday morning, the Vatican’s press workplace mentioned in an announcement.

The pope has additionally suffered a “earlier episode of acute respiratory failure”, arterial hypertension and kind II diabetes, the assertion mentioned.

Farrell made the announcement at 9:47am (07:47 GMT), about two hours after Francis died. Farrell spoke from Domus Santa Marta, the condominium on Vatican grounds the place Francis lived and the place he had returned to get well after a hospitalisation for double pneumonia in February.

Within the coming weeks, Farrell will play an essential function, overseeing the administration of the Holy See till a brand new pope is chosen.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra seal the doorways of the papal condominium within the Apostolic Palace and the door to the condominium of the Casa Santa Marta, the place the late Pope Francis lived.

The ceremony of the certification of loss of life and… pic.twitter.com/PP6j4SbqPr

— Vatican Information (@VaticanNews) April 21, 2025

What had been Pope Francis’s well being issues?

The pope was hospitalised for 5 weeks in February-March, initially affected by a extreme respiratory insufficiency from viral and bacterial infections. He had usually struggled with bronchitis throughout winter.

He was subsequently recognized with a polymicrobial an infection, which developed to pneumonia in each lungs. Francis got here near loss of life throughout his hospitalisation, in response to his medical crew.

He was additionally handled for an asthmatic respiratory episode, early-stage kidney failure, and a bronchial spasm that led him to aspirate vomit following a extreme coughing match.

He acquired noninvasive mechanical air flow at evening and high-flow oxygen remedy through the day.

His medical doctors had mentioned the pope was so critically ailing that the workers thought of stopping his remedy so he may die.

“We had to decide on whether or not to cease [treatment] and let him go, or push ahead and check out [to save him] with all of the medicine and therapies doable, operating the very excessive threat of damaging different organs. In the long run, we took this path,” Sergio Alfieri, a normal surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, mentioned in an interview not too long ago.

In keeping with Alfieri, it was the pope’s private nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, who urged the medical crew to stick with remedy, saying, “Strive all the things – don’t quit.”

His situation stabilised, and the pontiff continued his restoration at his residence. He made a number of public appearances over the previous week, however his weak voice served as a reminder of his frailty.

How did Pope Francis spend his ultimate days?

Docs at Gemelli Hospital prescribed him a routine of full relaxation.

After 38 days in hospital, the pope was discharged on March 23. He returned to his residence on the Casa Santa Marta.

With Easter simply three weeks away, the pope’s schedule grew more and more demanding.

On April 9, he met King Charles of the UK and Queen Camilla on the Casa Santa Marta. This assembly coincided with their twentieth wedding ceremony anniversary throughout their state go to to Italy.

The viewers was organized on the final minute, following the postponement of a deliberate formal state go to as a result of pope’s well being points.

On April 17, Holy Thursday, a major day within the Catholic calendar commemorating the Final Supper of Jesus Christ, Francis visited Rome’s Regina Coeli, the place he met with some 70 inmates.

In previous years, he had washed the ft of prisoners, echoing Jesus’s gesture along with his disciples on the eve of his loss of life. This time, nonetheless, the Vatican mentioned he apologised for being unable to carry out the ritual. As a substitute, he supplied them rosaries and pocket-sized Gospels as presents.

4 days later, on April 20, Francis acquired United States Vice President JD Vance at his residence.

“I do know you haven’t been feeling nice, but it surely’s good to see you in higher well being,” Vance mentioned. “Thanks for seeing me.”

The assembly got here because the pope and Vatican officers have criticised a number of of President Donald Trump’s insurance policies, significantly his efforts to deport migrants.

Francis has denounced the immigration crackdown as a “shame”. In the meantime, Vance, who transformed to Catholicism in 2019, has defended the coverage by referencing his interpretation of Catholic teachings from the medieval period.

It was the pope’s final diplomatic assembly.

Later that day, he delivered the normal Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the town and the world”, earlier than hundreds of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Sq. for the Vatican’s open-air Easter Sunday Mass.

Throughout this time, the pope condemned the “deplorable humanitarian scenario” brought on by Israel’s 18 months of conflict on the Palestinian territory. He additionally referred to as for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Then, to everybody’s shock, he made his method all the way down to Saint Peter’s Sq., using by way of the crowds within the open-top Popemobile – the enduring white Mercedes-Benz utilized by popes to greet the devoted.

Close to the tip of his ultimate tour of the sq., a number of kids had been lifted in the direction of him.

It could be the final time the world noticed him alive. He died the subsequent morning.