Pope Francis has died at the age of 88 on Easter Monday.
From modest beginnings in Argentina, he became the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff who was known to overcome fierce traditionalists as the voice for the poor, reshaping the Catholic Church. Francis has steadily steered the church away against conservatism, as he sought out to open up the church by reaching out to the destitute, migrants, victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members and the alienated gay Catholics. Known for his shake up by demoting conservatives in Vatican offices and even restricting the use of the old Latin Mass dear to traditionalists, he opened up influential meeting to women and other laypeople. He also allowed for priests to bless same-sex couples and has been vocal about allowing transgender people to become godparents and their children to be baptized. His new style was undoubtedly me with pushback by conservative Catholics, but he continued to create a legacy that was unparalleled by popes preceding him.
The pope’s death follows his public appearance on Easter Sunday, greeting crowds at the Vatican. He dies a day after the day after Easter Sunday, the most important holiday in Christianity where around the world 1.3 billion devoted Catholics celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The announcement of his death was made by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, who said Francis died at 7:35 a.m. CET.
The statement from the carmerlengo reads, “Dear brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.” The statement concluded, “With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God.” The news follows the pope’s recent bouts with illnesses. Earlier this year, he had a health crisis that saw him hospitalized for five weeks with double pneumonia. He was discharged last month and The Vatican stated last week that his health was improving.
The Vatican has not yet announced the next pontiff for the 21st century.
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