Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City State, has passed at the age of eighty-eight (88) on Easter Monday, 21 April, 2025.
He was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church; his death is happening a day after he appeared in St Peter’s Square to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers.
After five weeks of treatment for an infection, he was recently discharged from hospital last month.
In his Easter message, Pope Francis said: “Sisters, brothers, in the wonder of our Easter faith, carrying in our hearts every expectation of peace and liberation, we can say: with You, O Lord, everything is new. With You, everything begins again. In the passion and death of Jesus, God has taken upon Himself all the evil in this world and in His infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side.
“I would like us to renew our hope that #peace is possible! From the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Resurrection, where this year #Easter is being celebrated by Catholics and Orthodox on the same day, may the light of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world. Christ is risen! These words capture the entire meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life.”
