Pope Francis dies aged 88, Schwab Resigns at 88

Pope Francis, the pontiff revered by millions of Catholics around the world, has died at the age of 88.

We have MSM reporting from The Guardian below. Meanwhile, here are some virtual communication networks reactions:

Remember the Trump – Pope meeting, and the photo where the Pope is not smiling?

Archbishop Viganò ought to know why the Pope was so upset in the photo with Trump.

Pope Francis, groundbreaking Jesuit pontiff, dies aged 88

Death of 267th head of Catholic church triggers period of global mourning and Vatican conclave of cardinals to elect successor

Pope Francis, the pontiff revered by millions of Catholics around the world whose popular appeal reached far beyond his global congregation, has died at the age of 88.

Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said: “At 7:35 this morning (Monday, April 21, 2025), the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church.”

Francis, who had chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on February 14 for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy.

The pontiff, who was discharged from hospital on March 23, made his last public appearance on Sunday, when he briefly spoke to the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square for Easter mass.

In recent weeks, he left his home in Casa Santa Marta on several other occasions, including visiting prisoners at Rome’s Regina Coeli prison and making a surprise visit to St Peter’s Basilica, wearing plain attire.

Loved by many Catholics for his humility, Francis simplified rites for papal funerals last year and previously said he had already planned his tomb in the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighbourhood in Rome, where he went to pray before and after trips overseas. Popes are usually buried with much fanfare in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Amid intense mourning over the coming days and weeks, manoeuvring within the Vatican over who is to succeed Francis and become the 268th head of the Catholic church is certain to begin. Cardinals from around the world will head to Rome for a conclave, the secret, complex election ritual held in the Sistine Chapel and involving about 138 cardinals who are eligible to vote.

Some of the potential contenders mooted before Francis’s death were Matteo Zuppi, a progressive Italian cardinal, Pietro Parolin, who serves as the Vatican’s secretary of state, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, from the Philippines.

Source: The Guardian

 

yogaesoteric
April 22, 2025

 

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