The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died after a long battle with illness. A ring will be destroyed and nine days of official mourning will be witnessed over the next several days in a carefully orchestrated sequence.
Pope Francis death - What do we know till now
The Vatican announced in a video message that Pope Francis died on Monday in Rome following a protracted illness. His age was eighty-eight. The Roman Catholic pope, Francis, went back to his heavenly abode at 7:35 this morning. According to Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the camerlengo of the Vatican, the man devoted his entire life to serving the Lord and his Church. Since his near-recovery from pneumonia after five weeks in the hospital, his health had been a source of anxiety, and he had just been released from the hospital a little under a month back. Prior to his demise, Francis had delegated many of his responsibilities to cardinals and had missed major Holy Week festivities, which had not happened since he became pope in 2013. When understanding Pope Francis’ cause of death, it is important to know that he had a long list of health problems over his 12 years as pope, and his most recent sickness required respiratory treatment.
Pope Francis - His last appearance
Retired archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica Cardinal Angelo Comastri was entrusted with the responsibility of celebrating Easter Mass on the plaza instead of him. More than twenty minutes after Mass concluded, Francis arrived on the loggia balcony above the basilica entrance to offer the papal benediction in Latin, which was a happy surprise for millions of people who had gathered for the Mass. As a military band began to play the Holy See song, the thousands of people below burst into applause.
From a nightclub bouncer to the papacy- a storied history of the late Pope
After a divisive and tumultuous tenure in which he attempted to reform the institutionalised Catholic Church, Francis was elected supreme pope on March 13, 2013, becoming the first Latin American to hold that position. Mario Bergoglio, an accountant for the railways, and Regina Sivori had five children before Jorge was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires. Following his graduation from chemical technician school, he enrolled in the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto with the intention of becoming a priest. Pope Francis had several modest jobs before he became head of the Catholic Church. Reports indicate that he remembers scrubbing floors, working in a chemistry lab, teaching high school, and even dealing with rowdy clubgoers when speaking at a Rome church in 2013. He entered the Society of Jesus' novitiate on March 11, 1958, and slowly ran up the ranks to become one of the most progressive popes in the 21st century!
Mourning period and funeral
Following confirmation of Pope Francis' death, the Vatican will also proclaim the Novendiale, a nine-day period of sorrow. His mortal remains will be transferred by the Vatican to his private chapel during this period, where it will be covered in a white cassock and placed in a wooden coffin lined with zinc. Previous pontiffs were laid to rest in three stacked coffins constructed of cypress, lead, and wood; this is a departure from custom. On the other hand, Pope Francis had already instituted new, more austere burial rites in 2024.
There will be no public viewing of Pope Francis's body in St. Peter's Basilica, where it is traditionally laid on a high platform called a catafalque. The lid will be lifted from the coffin so that mourners may pay their respects to his body while it lies within.
How will a new pope be elected?
When a pope dies, the Roman Catholic Church has a lengthy process to select a new one. The Reuters-reported "sede vacante" ("empty seat" or "vacant see") refers to the time that the Church experiences after the death or resignation of a pope. When the seat of Peter is vacant, something occurs.
Several weeks pass during this time while the late pope's body sits in state, the burial is held, and the cardinals get ready for the conclave, the secret meeting to pick a new pope.