VATICAN CITY—On April 21, (Easter Monday), His Holiness, Pope Francis, left his earthly residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, to go to his heavenly reward.
Medical reports indicate that the Pope had a history of acute respiratory distress along with Type II diabetes. The Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, released the official medical report indicating the cause of death was identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse. He was 88.
At 9:45 a.m. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Carmerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, made the following announcement first reported by Vatican News:
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 a.m. this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.
His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. 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 to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
The original message from the office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff Notification, Statement of Death, and Deposition in the coffin of the body of the Roman Pontiff was originally written in Italian. The English translation, in part, is below. The full text is on the website of The Holy See.
Monday 21 April 2025
Following the communication of the death of the Roman Pontiff Francis, as provided in the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (nos. 21-40), this evening, Monday 21 April at 8:00 p.m., His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of noting the death and placing the body in the coffin.”
Initial reports tell of a Mass this evening. Due to the time difference, that Mass has already occurred. The body will reportedly be lying in state for the faithful to pray on Wednesday, April 23.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) a new Pope normally begins approximately two weeks following the resignation or death of the current pope. The following came directly from the USCCB. The full text may be found on their website.
“In the past, 15 to 20 days after a papal vacancy, the cardinals gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in electing a new pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a conclave. They are known as the cardinal electors.
For the conclave itself, the cardinal electors proceed to the Sistine Chapel and take an oath of absolute secrecy before sealing the doors.
The cardinals vote by secret ballot, processing one by one up to Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, saying a prayer, and dropping the twice-folded ballot in a large chalice. Four rounds of balloting are taken every day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote. The results of each ballot are counted aloud and recorded by three cardinals designated as recorders.
If no one receives the necessary two-thirds of the vote, the ballots are burned [with]in a stove near the chapel with a mixture of chemicals to produce black smoke.
When a cardinal receives the necessary two-thirds vote, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if he accepts his election. If he accepts, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before proceeding out to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The ballots of the final round are burned with chemicals producing white smoke to signal to the world the election of a new pope.
The senior cardinal deacon, currently French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, announces from the balcony of St. Peter’s “Habemus Papam” (“We have a pope”) before the new pope proceeds out and imparts his blessing on the city of Rome and the entire world.”
