{"id":134588,"date":"2025-04-21T22:42:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-francis-died-of-a-stroke-and-irreversible-heart-failure-vatican-says-live-updates-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T22:42:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:42:02","slug":"pope-francis-died-of-a-stroke-and-irreversible-heart-failure-vatican-says-live-updates-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-francis-died-of-a-stroke-and-irreversible-heart-failure-vatican-says-live-updates-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican says: Live updates – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pope Francis<\/a>, 88, a humble reformer who sought to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and clashed with world leaders over the rights of immigrants, died Easter Monday following a lengthy bout of double pneumonia, the Vatican said.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who oversees the pope’s affairs, announced his death from Casa Santa Marta, where Francis lived at the Vatican. A funeral date has not been announced, but the Vatican said it would likely take place between Friday and Sunday.
Francis died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in a death certificate released Monday. The certificate, which was published by the Vatican, said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death early that day. The Vatican also said Francis had relayed in a final statement his wishes to be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Farrell said in a statement on Vatican News<\/a>. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
The pope’s death comes one day after a frail but determined Francis greeted thousands in St. Peter’s Square after Easter Mass in his open-air popemobile \u2212 and just weeks after an extended hospital stay during which he battled bilateral pneumonia<\/a>\u00a0and other health issues.
The pope, who shunned pomp and privilege and loved to be among the public, sat in a raised chair in the vehicle as people cheered \u201cviva il papa.\u201d He stopped at several places along the square, much to the delight of the crowd.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church,” Farrell said. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis<\/a> to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
Developments:<\/strong>
\u220e President Donald Trump announced on social media<\/a> that he and first lady Melania Trump<\/a> will attend Francis’ funeral<\/a>, saying, “We look forward to being there!”
\u220e The Vatican said the “rite of ascertainment of death” and placement of Pope Francis\u2019 body in the coffin would take place Monday around 8 p.m. local time.
\u220e The pope’s body is tentatively planned to be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning “so that the faithful may pray before his mortal remains,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said.
\u220e Ten Americans<\/a>, mostly from the Midwest, are among the 135 cardinals who will vote for a successor to Francis.
\u220e In his final address on Easter Sunday, Francis called for a cease-fire in Gaza and offered a message of hope. Read his remarks here.<\/a>
Church doctrine calls for the pope to be buried four to six days after his death, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Funeral rites are celebrated for nine days after his death.
Usually within three weeks of a pope’s death, the College of Cardinals, the church’s most senior officials residing either at the Vatican or spread across the world, gather in Rome for a papal conclave<\/a> to choose the next pope. Since 1975, only those younger than 80 are able to participate in the papal conclave. As of Jan. 22, there were 252 cardinals, of whom 138 are electors,\u00a0according to the Vatican<\/a>.
The electors meet\u00a0in the Sistine Chapel<\/a>\u00a0and begin rounds of voting until a candidate receives at least two-thirds of the electors’ votes. After votes that fail to pick a pope, cardinals burn the slips of paper with chemicals that produce black smoke. Once a candidate earns the requisite number of votes \u2212 and he accepts the papacy \u2212 chemicals that produce white smoke are added and the world is notified that a successor has been chosen.\u00a0Read more here<\/a>.
\u2212 Savannah Kuchar<\/em>
Two U.S. cardinals are prominent leaders in the global church who could be surprise selections for pope<\/a>. The differences between the two Americans reflect divisions within the broader global church.\u00a0
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, 72, was a confidant of Pope Francis. He is a particularly fierce advocate for immigrants who has defended the progressive, inclusive teachings of Francis. Tobin has openly welcomed LGBTQ people into services and has suggested the church might, in the future, allow women to be ordained into the ministry.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, 76, led the Archdiocese of St. Louis before holding various roles in church governance. He was appointed to the College of Cardinals in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI, who was a vociferous defender of mostly traditional Catholic doctrines. Burke opposes softening attitudes toward homosexuality or encouraging acceptance of gay people in Catholic life.\u00a0
\u2212 Jayme Fraser<\/em>\u00a0
As the leader of approximately 1.4 billion baptized Catholics worldwide, Francis made a point of reaching out to followers of other religions<\/a>, pushing for interfaith solidarity.
He fostered those connections by making more than 45 international trips, including visits to the Middle East, where he met with people of other faiths, including Jews, Muslims and Buddhists.
“All religions are paths to God,” Francis\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0during a September trip to Singapore, likening different faiths to “different languages that express the divine” and adding, “but God is for everyone.”
\u2212 N’dea Yancey-Bragg<\/em>
Catholics in the U.S. grieved Francis, the first pope to visit<\/a> one of the nation’s roughly 6,000-plus Catholic schools.
Francis did so in 2015 when he met with students at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, according to Mary Grace Walsh, the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York.\u00a0
She invited students and staff to pause and pray for Francis on Monday. \u201cMay Pope Francis rest in everlasting joy and peace,\u201d she said in a statement<\/a>.\u00a0
Presidents of the country\u2019s more than 200 Catholic colleges also honored Francis on Monday.\u00a0
\u201cWe should embrace his vision for Catholic education,\u201d Peter Kilpatrick, president of the Catholic University of America, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cHe called for education that forms missionary disciples prepared to address contemporary challenges with intellectual rigor and spiritual depth.\u201d
\u2212 Zachary Schermele<\/em>
Pope Francis<\/a>\u00a0forged a legacy of championing the\u00a0just treatment of migrants<\/a> and was often at odds with world leaders\u00a0who sought to limit the flow of outsiders.\u00a0In 2013, the year he was elected as the Catholic Church\u2019s first Latin American pope, 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced. Last year, the number rose to\u00a0more than 120 million<\/a>.\u00a0
Francis was born in Argentina to Italian immigrants and called upon his family\u2019s experiences when imploring compassion for migrants.<\/a>\u00a0He took issue with a comment by Vice President JD Vance<\/a> in January that \u201cyou love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.\u201d
\u201cChristian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,” Francis wrote in a Feb. 10 letter<\/a>\u00a0to U.S. bishops.
But his concerns stretched back to his early years as pope. Francis told a meeting of German faithful at the Vatican in October 2016 that it is “hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.” Read more here<\/a>.
\u2212 Karissa Waddick and Lauren Villagran<\/em>
Francis met with each of the last three U.S. presidents<\/a> \u2212 Barack Obama, Trump and Joe Biden \u2212 during his 12 years as pope, and they had distinctly different relationships.
Obama and Francis exchanged visits in 2014 and 2015. The trailblazing leaders differed on some issues but bonded over their mutual concern for the disadvantaged and the environment. Obama said Francis reminded the world that \u201cwe have a sacred obligation to protect our planet \u2013 God’s magnificent gift to us.\u201d
Francis was a staunch defender of immigrants and Trump regarded him as too political. He was aggravated when the pope said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
Trump called the remarks \u201cdisgraceful,\u201d but later softened his stance after their private meeting in May 2017, four months into his first term, saying, “I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.\u201d
Biden had met Francis three times before taking office, but their 2021 gathering at the Vatican was especially meaningful for the country’s first Catholic president since John F. Kennedy. They spoke for nearly an hour and half and Biden reported the pope “was happy that I was a good Catholic.”\u00a0
\u2212 Michael Collins<\/em>
Trump paid respects to Pope Francis in brief remarks as he addressed the annual White House Easter Egg Roll from the South Portico on Monday morning.
\u201cHe was a good man, worked hard, he loved the world,” Trump told the thousands in attendance for the 147th iteration of the egg roll tradition. \u201cHe especially loved people that were having a hard time. That\u2019s good with me.\u201d
Trump said he signed an order earlier in the day directing U.S. flags and state flags to be lowered to half-staff, calling it “an honor.” Trump said he was uncertain whether he would attend Francis\u2019 funeral, saying he would need to “look at the timing.\u201d
Earlier, Trump offered his condolences in a social media post. “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” Trump said on<\/a> Truth Social.
\u2212 Francesca Chambers<\/em> and Joey Garrison\u00a0<\/em>
Popes are not autopsied. Francis<\/a>\u00a0died\u00a0about four weeks after<\/a>\u00a0he was released from the hospital following an\u00a0extended battle with<\/a> r<\/a>espiratory ailments<\/a>. While the Vatican did not immediately specify an official cause of death<\/a>, the pope had spent about five weeks earlier in 2025 hospitalized with a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both his lungs.
Throughout his life,\u00a0Pope Francis<\/a>\u00a0suffered from lung infections. In his native Argentina in 1957, while in his early 20s, he had a severe respiratory infection that resulted in the removal of part of his lung.\u00a0In recent years, respiratory issues were a recurrent health challenge he faced, as were several other aliments throughout his life.
\u2212 Alyssa Goldberg<\/em>
Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936. The son of Italian immigrant parents, Francis rose through the ranks as a Jesuit priest in his home country of Argentina. Elected in March 2013, Francis was the 266th pope<\/a>, spiritual leader to nearly\u00a01.4 billion baptized Catholics<\/a>\u00a0worldwide.
Argentines were among those across the globe mourning Francis, holding a special Mass in the cathedral in Buenos Aires, where Francis was once archbishop. The building was adorned with a photo of Francis, white flowers and the blue and white flag of Argentina. The government said there would be seven days of mourning.
\u201cThe pope of the poor has left us, the pope of the marginalized,\u201d said Jorge Garcia Cuerva, who is now archbishop of Buenos Aires, referring to Francis\u2019 time working in the city\u2019s poor districts that led to his nickname, the \u201cslum pope.\u201d
Britain’s King Charles,<\/a>\u00a0in a statement posted to\u00a0the royal family’s X account<\/a>, said he and the queen were remembering their meetings with the pope with “particular affection” and for “his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others.\u201d\u00a0
Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a>, president of Ukraine, noted the\u00a0\u201cmillions of people around the world\u201d<\/a>\u00a0who will mourn the pope\u2019s passing: \u201cHis life was devoted to God, to people, and to the Church. He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity. He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians.\u201d
\u2212 Dinah Voyles Pulver and Melissa Montoya<\/em>
Former President Joe Biden, a Catholic, shared thoughts about Pope Francis on X<\/a>.
\u201cFor decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased,\u201d Biden said. \u201cHe advocated for the voiceless and powerless. He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church. He promoted equity and an end to poverty and suffering across the globe. And above all, he was a Pope for everyone.\u201d
Former President Barack Obama also posted on X<\/a>, saying the pope “was the rare leader who made us want to be better people.”
\u201cToday, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world \u2013 Catholic and non-Catholic alike \u2013 who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope\u2019s example. May we continue to heed his call to never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.\u201d
\u2212 Dinah Pulver<\/em>
The\u00a0pope<\/a>\u00a0often sparred with political leaders over their treatment of immigrants<\/a> and found himself at odds with Trump<\/a>\u00a0and \u00a0Vice President JD Vance<\/a>. Francis had spent the past dozen years of his papacy highlighting the struggles of immigrants and asking the faithful to defend them.
His tenure coincided with a massive increase in displaced people worldwide. The United Nations estimates that\u00a0some 120 million people<\/a>\u00a0have been forced to leave their homes in recent years. This rise in migration has also led to a backlash against migrants in destination countries, including the United States.
Speaking to the public during a weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in August 2024, Francis stated that “it needs to be said clearly: There are those who systematically work by all means to drive away migrants, and this, when done knowingly and deliberately, is a grave sin.”
\u2212 Lauren Villagran<\/em>
Francis rose through the ranks to archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he became known as the “slum\u00a0pope<\/a>” for his focus on the poor and spending time in the capital’s tough urban neighborhoods, or villas.
He was elevated to pope in 2013, the first pope from the Americas and the first born outside of Europe in over a millennia.\u00a0During his papacy, he was praised and criticized for commenting on political issues, from immigration to LGBTQ issues.
Francis would make more than 45 international trips, including the first by any\u00a0pope\u00a0to Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Bahrain and Mongolia. But the one-time archbishop of Buenos Aires never returned to Argentina, where he had a sometimes rocky relationships with government leaders. President Javier Milei, who once called Francis\u00a0the “devil’s representative on Earth,” posted a tribute to Francis on X.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honor for me,” Milei wrote. “As President, as an Argentine, and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who are today dealing with this sad news.”
Former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who invited Pope Francis to become the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress in September 2015, said the meeting changed his life.
“Speaker, will you pray for me?” Boehner quoted Francis as asking him.
\u201cWith those words, Pope Francis changed my life,\u201d Boehner said in a post on social media<\/a>. \u201cHe will forever hold a place in America’s history as the first Pope to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, and in hearts across the world for his compassionate stewardship of the Church.\u201d
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic ministry of justice and reconciliation for LGBTQ+ people, called Francis a “gift to the church and to the LGBTQ+ community.” DeBernardo credited the pope with encouraging church leaders to “accompany, listen, and dialogue with LGBTQ+ people,” thus opening doors that had been “sealed shut by the homophobia and transphobia” of previous popes.
“Francis was not only the first pope to use the word \u201cgay\u201d when speaking about<\/em> LGBTQ+ people, he was the first pope to speak lovingly and tenderly to<\/em> them,” DeBernardo said in an email to USA TODAY. “His kind words of welcome to this community, traditionally marginalized in the church, rang loudly around the globe.”\u00a0
Vice President JD Vance<\/a>\u00a0shared his condolences April 21 after\u00a0the death of Pope Francis<\/a>, a day after he met with the head of the Catholic Church at the Vatican. Photos taken by the Vatican and shared by the White House showed a smiling Vance, a Catholic convert who clashed with Francis in the past over immigration, seated across from Francis, who was in a wheelchair.
“My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,”\u00a0Vance posted on X<\/a>. “But I\u2019ll always remember him for the … homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful.”
\u2212 Francesca Chambers<\/em>
Francis’ Easter Sunday appearance in the crowd at St. Peter’s Square came after a hospital stay of more than five weeks during which at one point physicians considered halting treatment to allow him to die peacefully.
Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong battle with bronchitis. He had been struggling to speak and even breathe during public appearances. His hospitalization included multiple attacks of\u00a0“acute respiratory insufficiency,”<\/a>\u00a0according to daily updates issued by the Vatican.
While hospitalized, the pope was also diagnosed with a\u00a0polymicrobial infection<\/a>\u00a0and then mild renal insufficiency.
Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, told Italy’s\u00a0Corriere della Sera<\/a>\u00a0in an interview last month that two weeks into the pope’s hospitalization the medical team had to decide whether to “stop and let him go or force it and try all the drugs and therapies possible.”<\/a>\u00a0Alfieri said the pope delegated health care decisions to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal health assistant, who told the team to “try everything, don’t give up.”
The pope was released from the hospital March 23 and has been back to work, albeit on a shortened schedule.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the\u00a0Apostolic Chamber, announced the pope’s death from the Casa Santa Marta early Monday morning. He said that “at 7:35 this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
The cause of death was not immediately announced, but Francis had spent more than five weeks in the hospital earlier this year with bronchitis and related illnesses.
Before Francis emerged into the crowd at St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday in his popemobile, the pope had blessed the throng from a balcony.
He gave a proclamation that ‘Christ, my hope, has risen” before passing on his text to be read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli. An Italian cardinal presided over the Easter morning Mass that drew more than 50,000 faithful gathered to the “flower-filled Saint Peter\u2019s Square,” the Vatican said.
The election of a new pope is a highly mystified and sacred process, dating back centuries and enshrined in last year’s\u00a0award-winning thriller<\/a>\u00a0“Conclave.”
The last time the College of Cardinals gathered to vote and select the next representative of God on Earth was more than a dozen years ago, when\u00a0Pope Francis<\/a>\u00a0was selected.
His predecessor, Pope Benedict,\u00a0stepped down from the papacy<\/a>\u00a0in 2013, a decision that had not been made by someone of his station in almost 600 years. Benedict, then 85, cited his age and declining health. He\u00a0died in 2022<\/a>. Read more here about what the process will look like<\/a>.
Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope, increasing, but not guaranteeing, the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies. Some Vatican experts have predicted a more moderate, less divisive successor.
Under his watch, an overhauled Vatican constitution allowed any baptized lay Catholic, including women, to head most departments in the Catholic Church\u2019s central administration.
He put more women in senior Vatican roles than any previous pope but not as many as progressives wanted.
Contributing: Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n

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Pope Francis, 88, a humble reformer who sought to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and clashed with world leaders over the rights of immigrants, died Easter Monday following a lengthy bout of double pneumonia, the Vatican said.Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who oversees the pope’s affairs, announced his death from Casa Santa Marta, where Francis lived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}