Pope Francis, everyman leader of the Roman Catholic Church, dies at 88

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis, whose clip arsenic caput of the Catholic Church was noted for an everyman humility and outreach efforts to radical of disparate backgrounds and faiths, has died astatine 88, the Vatican has confirmed.

"At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the location of the Father. His full beingness was dedicated to the work of the Lord and His Church," Cardinal Kevin Ferrell said connected Monday.

Pope Francis was hospitalized for conscionable implicit 5 weeks opening successful February 2025 to code what the Vatican initially said was a respiratory tract infection, for which helium began receiving treatment. Four days aft his hospitalization, the Vatican revealed that Francis had been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

The pontiff's wellness remained precarious successful the ensuing weeks, including a "prolonged" asthmatic respiratory crisis that the Vatican said required doctors to administer him supplemental oxygen, arsenic good arsenic transfusions to code debased humor platelets, which are cells that circulate successful the humor and assistance it clot. He besides experienced two episodes of "acute respiratory failure" successful aboriginal March, according to the Vatican, that required "noninvasive mechanical ventilation" astatine nighttime to assistance him breathe.

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Pope Francis was released from the infirmary and returned to the Vatican connected March 23, wherever his physicians said helium would necessitate further months of recovery. Two weeks later, helium made his first nationalist appearance since his discharge from the hospital, sitting successful a wheelchair portion utilizing supplemental oxygen arsenic helium concisely greeted radical successful St. Peter's Square. He besides made an appearance connected Easter Sunday from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, pursuing a earlier gathering with Vice President JD Vance.

Pope Francis was said to beryllium alert and alert passim the wellness episodes and occasionally posted messages connected X, acknowledging the bully wishes sent his way.

"I would similar to convey you for your prayers, which emergence up to the Lord from the hearts of truthful galore faithful from galore parts of the world," Francis posted connected March 2. "I consciousness each your affection and closeness and, astatine this peculiar time, I consciousness arsenic if I americium 'carried' and supported by each God's people."

Four days later, the pope offered his first nationalist comments since his hospitalization successful the signifier of a recorded audio connection successful Spanish that was played successful St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis greets cardinals during a astonishment quality astatine the extremity of the wide for Palm Sunday astatine St Peter's quadrate successful the Vatican connected April 13, 2025.

Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images

"I convey you from the bottommost of my bosom for your prayers for my wellness from the Square, I travel you from here," the pope said. "May God bless you and the Virgin support you. Thank you,"

Pope Francis' respiratory wellness was a lifelong contented for him; helium had portion of 1 lung removed astatine property 21 due to the fact that of a respiratory infection. As helium grew older, helium began to acquisition gastrointestinal issues that led to a conception of his colon being surgically removed successful 2021 due to the fact that of intestinal inflammation. He besides began utilizing a wheelchair and cane successful 2023 due to the fact that of strained genu ligaments and a tiny genu fracture that made walking and lasting difficult.

As the person of the Catholic Church, Francis captured the imaginations of believers and non-believers alike, with his populist benignant giving the church's connection of societal justness acold greater resonance than that of galore of his predecessors.

Argentinian-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the Catholic Church's 266th pope and the archetypal ever from Latin America. He took the sanction Francis aft the well-known St. Francis of Assisi, who ministered to the poor.

Like his namesake, the pontiff earned a estimation for surviving a humble beingness and eschewing the pomp of his predecessors. While Pope Benedict XVI had a flair for papal fashion, Francis chose the elemental achromatic cassock with fewer embellishments for mundane wear. When helium was elected pope connected March 13, 2013, helium didn't nonstop an adjutant to wage his edifice measure successful Rome, but took attraction of it himself.

He was besides arguably much approachable than his predecessors, known to airs with tourists for selfies and for allowing children articulation him connected the popemobile during his play nationalist assemblage successful the square. He erstwhile welcomed a kid with Down syndrome to beryllium adjacent to him, and held her manus portion helium delivered a speech.

Francis besides chose not to unrecorded successful the ornate papal apartments, preferring alternatively to reside with others successful the elemental quarters of the Vatican impermanent house. Rather than question successful a limousine, helium made a constituent of traveling astir successful smaller, much mean vehicles erstwhile leaving the Vatican and connected his trips.

He reached retired to those connected the margins of society, and to Catholics who felt alienated by religion doctrine.

First Latin American pope

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was calved connected Dec. 17, 1936, successful Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1 of 5 siblings. His begetter was an Italian migrant employed arsenic a railway worker, portion his parent was the Argentine-born girl of Italian immigrants.

Stricken with a lung corruption arsenic a teenager, Bergoglio yet had portion of his close lung removed astatine property 21. He went connected to clasp assorted unusual jobs, including moving arsenic a bouncer astatine a club, sweeping floors, and moving tests successful a chemic laboratory, earlier deciding to articulation the Jesuit bid successful 1958, becoming a clergyman conscionable shy of 12 years later.

The aforesaid consciousness of societal justness helium embodied arsenic Pope Francis tin beryllium traced backmost to erstwhile the pontiff was the archbishop of Buenos Aires. He made a sanction for himself past by reportedly starring a elemental beingness - preparing his ain meals, surviving successful a spartan flat and riding nationalist proscription - eschewing the luxurious manner typically associated with his position.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis successful 2012 notably criticized priests who refused to baptize children calved retired of wedlock.

"They are the hypocrites of today," said Francis. "They crook God's radical distant from salvation. And that mediocre miss who could person sent her kid backmost to the sender but had the courageousness to bring him into the satellite goes connected pilgrimage from parish to parish to person him baptized."

Outreach arsenic pope

From the start, Pope Francis' tenure was marked by a much populist ministry than that of his predecessors, demonstrated some by his outreach to groups traditionally ignored oregon criticized by the church, and his broader efforts to betterment and contemporize the religion itself.

On his archetypal travel aft becoming pope, Francis chose symbolically to question to the tiny Italian land of Lampedusa, successful confederate Italy, 1 of the archetypal points of introduction into Europe for mediocre and hopeless refugees and migrants from North Africa, who hazard their lives to marque the crossing successful often unsafe vessels. He besides utilized his archetypal Christmas address arsenic pontiff to telephone connected radical to "place ourselves astatine the work of the poor, marque ourselves tiny and mediocre with them."

In a February 2016 wide delivered connected the U.S.-Mexico border, and with anti-immigrant sentiments connected the rise, the pope called for radical successful the U.S. and astir the satellite to support "open hearts" regarding immigrants fleeing unit and poorness successful their homelands.

With the religion nether broadside disapproval for sex-abuse scandals involving salient clergy, Pope Francis some met with and apologized to enactment maltreatment victims, calling them "heralds of mercy" and acknowledging that the religion had failed them, declaring, "God weeps."

Francis besides criticized the religion itself for what helium called its obsession with issues including same-sex marriage, termination and contraception, though helium stopped abbreviated of challenging the church's accepted positions connected them.

When a writer asked him a question astir cheery priests connected his archetypal overseas travel successful 2013, conscionable 4 months aft his election, Francis stunned radical with his response: "If a idiosyncratic is cheery and seeks God and has bully will, who americium I to judge?"

As precocious arsenic August of 2023, Francis reiterated successful comments during World Youth Day successful Portugal that the Catholic Church is for "everyone," including LGBTQ+ people, though they were inactive excluded from the sacraments. The pursuing December, Francis approved a Vatican declaration titled "On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings" which noted that, portion the church's authoritative argumentation remained opposed to same-sex marriage, "when radical inquire for a blessing, an exhaustive motivation investigation should not beryllium placed arsenic a precondition for conferring it. For, those seeking a blessing should not beryllium required to person anterior motivation perfection."

Health problems

Pope Francis' respiratory wellness was a lifelong contented for him; helium had portion of 1 lung removed astatine property 21 due to the fact that of a respiratory infection. As helium grew older, helium began to acquisition gastrointestinal issues, including a bout of diverticulitis that led to a 10-day infirmary enactment successful July 2021, during which clip a conception of his colon was surgically removed. He besides began utilizing a wheelchair and cane successful 2023 due to the fact that of strained genu ligaments and a genu fracture that made walking and lasting difficult.

On a formation location from a travel to Canada successful July 2022, wherever helium had been utilizing a wheelchair, Francis hinted helium would person to dilatory down aboriginal travels and possibly resign 1 day.

"This travel was a spot of a test. It's existent you can't bash trips successful this state, possibly we person to alteration a spot the style, reduce, wage the debts of the trips that I inactive person to bash and reorganize," Francis said.

He added that "the doorway is open" for him to resign if helium couldn't transportation on.

Even so, Francis continued traveling successful 2023, with a full of 5 trips that twelvemonth contempt expanding wellness issues.

In January of 2023, then-86-year-old Pope Francis revealed his diverticulitis had returned but was being managed. The pursuing March, helium was hospitalized for 3 days with acute bronchitis.

"I americium touched by the galore messages received successful these hours and I explicit my gratitude for the closeness and prayer," Francis wrote connected Twitter astatine the time.

In June of 2023, Francis was backmost successful the hospital, wherever helium underwent 3 hours of abdominal country to code intestinal blockages caused by scarring from erstwhile surgeries. That pursuing November, the Vatican announced that the pontiff had developed a "pulmonary inflammation that has caused immoderate breathing difficulties," and for which helium was being treated with intravenous antibiotics. He subsequently canceled a planned travel to be a clime league successful Dubai.

Pope Francis' wellness continued to beryllium an contented into 2024, prompting the cancellation of immoderate events successful precocious February of that twelvemonth owed to what the Vatican property bureau described arsenic "mild flu symptoms," which besides saw him sojourn Rome's Gemelli Hospital for what the Vatican called "diagnostic tests."

In January 2025, the Vatican announced that Francis had injured his limb successful a autumn astatine his residence, suffering "a bruise to his close forearm, without fractures." The Pope was seen utilizing a brushed sling to enactment his limb successful a photograph released by the Vatican.

Pope Francis continued to acquisition respiratory issues and was admitted to the hospital connected Feb. 14, 2025 for what the Vatican described arsenic "necessary tests" and was subsequently diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection, besides according to the Vatican, for which helium began receiving treatment. Four days later, the Vatican revealed that Francis had been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, for which helium was receiving "additional cause therapy."

"Thank you for the affection, supplication and closeness with which you are accompanying maine successful these days," the pope posted connected X connected Feb. 16.

Pope Francis subsequently suffered a "prolonged" asthmatic respiratory situation connected Feb. 22, according to the Vatican, that required doctors to administer him supplemental oxygen, and that helium remained successful captious condition. Francis had besides received transfusions to code debased humor platelets, the Vatican said.

What happens next

A nine-day play of mourning is expected to beryllium observed. The Pope's ceremonial volition beryllium held aft his assemblage lies successful authorities for nationalist viewing successful St. Peter's Basilica.

During this time, each cardinals nether the property of 80 who are eligible to enactment are summoned to Rome to hole for the concealed conclave wrong the Sistine Chapel to take the adjacent pontiff, a gathering that typically commences betwixt 15 to 20 days aft the pope's death.

The cardinal-electors volition formed arsenic galore arsenic 4 ballots successful a azygous day. Black fume from the Sistine Chapel's chimney volition bespeak an inconclusive vote, portion achromatic fume volition signify a caller pope has been elected.

The caller antheral chosen to pb the Catholic Church volition past hole to marque his nationalist debut astatine the cardinal balcony astatine St. Peter's Basilica.

ABC News' Christopher Watson contributed to this report.