Vatican Says Pope Francis Has Died
BBC News
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Vatican Says Pope Francis Has Died
BBC News
Pope Francis has died aged 88, the Vatican says
The Pope, who was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at 07:35 local time on Easter Monday
World leaders pay tribute to his "contagious smile" and "boundless compassion", with French President Emmanuel Macron calling him a "man of humility"
His death comes a day after he appeared in St Peter's Square to wish "Happy Easter" to thousands of worshippers
He was recently discharged from hospital last month after five weeks of treatment for an infection
Francis's death sets in motion the centuries-old process of electing a new Pope
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Watch BBC's religion editor Aleem Maqbool on the life of the late Pope
Edited by Thomas Spender and Jack Burgess
BBC correspondent Davide Ghiglione was in Rome when news broke of the late Pope's death. As he rushed into work, he passed people running towards St Peter's Square, close to Rome's centre, to pay their respects.
"On my way to the Vatican, I also saw some people crying," he tells the BBC's News channel.
The pontiff's death comes as a "huge shock", Ghiglione says, despite his poor health earlier this year.
The Pope's public appearances and apparent energy since returning to the Vatican had given many faithful hope.
Ghiglione met the Pope previously while travelling on the papal plane as a journalist.
"He talked to me personally about his grandmother. He was a humble man who could talk to anyone about anything."
US President Donald Trump visited the Pope in 2017
The White House has paid tribute to the Pope in a post on X, external.
"Rest in Peace, Pope Francis," the post says, alongside a picture of the Pope meeting US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, and another picture of the Pope meeting JD Vance yesterday.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch met the Pope in 2022
The leaders of UK political parties have praised Pope Francis's courage and leadership.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pays tribute to the pontiff's "humility, courage and conviction".
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, calls Pope Francis a "leader of compassion and courage".
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says his "sympathies go out to all in the Catholic Church".
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan praises the late Pope's "example of compassionate leadership".
Scottish First Minister John Swinney says the Pope "brought comfort, assurance and hope".
We haven't heard from the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, or King Charles III yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear from them.
In the final months of his life, the Pope's ill-health saw him spend several weeks in hospital.
On 14 February, the 88-year-old was taken to the Gemelli hospital in Rome to be treated for pneumonia in both lungs. He had experienced difficulties breathing for several days.
He was discharged from hospital on 23 March.
The pontiff was particularly susceptible to pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs that can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, after undergoing a partial lung removal as a young man.
US Vice-President JD Vance had a brief meeting Pope Francis yesterday
US Vice-President JD Vance says he has just learned of the passing of Pope Francis.
He adds: "My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him."
Vance arrived in Rome on Friday and on Saturday met Vatican officials.
He also had a brief private meeting with the Pope.
Ursula von der Leyen, chief of the European Commission, says her thoughts are with all who feel this profound loss
We can bring you some more reaction now from leaders around the world:
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936.
The eldest of five children, his parents had fled their native Italy to escape the evils of fascism.
He enjoyed tango dancing and became a supporter of his local football club, San Lorenzo.
He was lucky to escape with his life after a serious bout of pneumonia, undergoing an operation to remove part of a lung. It would leave him susceptible to infection throughout his life.
As an elderly man he also suffered from pain in his right knee, which he described as a "physical humiliation".
The young Bergoglio worked as a nightclub bouncer and floor sweeper, before graduating as a chemist.
At a local factory, he worked closely with Esther Ballestrino, who campaigned against Argentina's military dictatorship. She was tortured, her body never found.
He became a Jesuit, studied philosophy and taught literature and psychology. Ordained a decade later, he won swift promotion, becoming provincial superior for Argentina in 1973.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hails Pope Francis's commitment to the "most vulnerable".
He says in a post on the social media platform X: "I mourn the passing of Pope Francis. His commitment to peace, social justice, and the most vulnerable leaves a profound legacy. Rest in peace."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says "this news saddens us deeply".
"I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship," she adds in the statement.
Meloni adds "he asked the world, once again, for the courage to change direction, to follow a path that 'does not destroy, but cultivates, repairs, protects'".
"His teaching and his legacy will not be lost. We greet the Holy Father with hearts full of sadness, but we know that he is now in the peace of the Lord."
Pope Francis' Easter Sunday message was one of peace and "respect for the views of others".
An aide read on his behalf:
There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression."
In his final address, the pontiff remembered the people of Gaza, in particular its Christian population, as the conflict "causes death and destruction" and creates a "deplorable humanitarian situation". He also called growing global antisemitism "worrisome".
"What a great thirst for death, for killing we see in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world," he said.
"I express my closeness to the sufferings… for all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people," the message said. "Call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace."
The Pope also encouraged all parties involved in the Ukraine war to "pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace".
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell – who is the acting head of the Church of England – has reacted to Pope Francis's death. The paid met in 2023.
"We saw that compellingly in Francis’s service of the poor, his love of neighbour especially the displaced, migrant, the asylum seeker, his deep compassion for the well-being of the earth and his desire to lead and build the church in new ways.
"Francis showed us how to follow Jesus and encouraged us to go and do likewise… In their humility and focus on those in the margins, those actions, his whole life, was instantly recognisable as those of one who followed Jesus."
Archbishop Cottrell also referred to Pope Francis's work to resolve religious differences, saying he had been "acutely aware of the divisions between our churches and how they stand in the way of seeing Jesus Christ more fully".
And he paid tribute to his character, describing him as a "holy man of God" who was "also very human".
I remember, in the brief times I spent with him, how this holy man of God was also very human. He was witty, lively, good to be with, and the warmth of his personality and interest in others shone out from him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory."
The pontiff's death not only follows the most important calendar event for Catholics, but falls into the special jubilee year, which comes around every 25 years.
The jubilee kicked off when the Pope opened the usually bricked-up Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica on 24 December, and sees millions of pilgrims descend on the Vatican to pass through the doorway and seek forgiveness for their sins.
Tens of thousands of Catholics had gathered for the Easter Mass in this special year.
The BBC's religion editor, Aleem Maqbool, takes us through the life of the late Pope Francis in this short, 90-second video:
This video can not be played
Pope Francis: The bouncer who became pontiff
Tributes are pouring in now:
The French president is pictured here meeting the Pope in 2023
French President Emmanuel Macron is among the first world leaders to pay tribute to Pope Francis, calling him a "man of humility, on the side of the most vulnerable and most fragile".
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Watch: Pope Francis wishes the faithful a "happy Easter" to applause from Vatican crowds
The Pope's death comes fewer than 24 hours after he made an appearance at the Vatican's St Peter's Square for Easter Sunday.
He came out in a wheelchair and waved from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to cheering crowds and said: "Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter."
His traditional Easter address and blessing was read by an aide while he sat, watching.
Following the blessing, he was driven around the square. As he passed through the crowds, his procession paused a number of times as babies were brought over for him to bless.
See the latest at the Vatican in our live stream above – press watch live at the top of the page.
A papal funeral has traditionally been an elaborate affair, but Pope Francis recently approved plans to make the whole procedure less complex.
Previous pontiffs were buried in three nested coffins made of cypress, lead and oak.
Pope Francis has opted for a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
He has also scrapped the tradition of placing the Pope's body on a raised platform – known as a catafalque – in St Peter's Basilica for public viewing.
Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed.
Francis will also be the first Pope in more than a Century to be buried outside the Vatican.
He will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome.
Francis's papacy heralded many firsts and while he never stopped introducing reforms to the Catholic Church, he remained popular among traditionalists.
He was the first Pope from the Americas or the southern hemisphere. Not since Syrian-born Gregory III died in 741 had there been a non-European Bishop of Rome.
He was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter – Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.
Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI, was the first Pope to retire voluntarily in almost 600 years and for almost a decade the Vatican Gardens hosted two popes.
As Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina, he was already in his seventies when he became Pope in 2013.
A short while ago, His Eminence, Cardinal Farrell, announced with sorrow the death of Pope Francis, with these words: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
At 7:35 this morning (local time), the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church."
"He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised."
Farrell adds: "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 One and Triune God.”
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