The Vatican announces the passing of Pope Francis
At 9:45 AM, from the Casa Santa Marta – Vatican City, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis (known at his Baptism as Jorge Mario Bergoglio) passed away on April 21, 2025, 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, 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 cause of Pope Francis’ death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse. Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, issued the official certification, and the Holy See Press Office released the report on Monday evening.
As part of the first of three stations, or moments of death in a papal funeral, the Pope’s death has now been declared, and his death certified. Pope Francis is now resting in the Casa Santa Marta chapel which is in his official residence at the Vatican.
In the Second station of the rite, Pope Francis will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday at 7:00 am UTC (1:00 am EST). The Litany of the Saints is sung as the procession enters the Basilica. The Pope’s coffin will lie in state there until the burial, so that the public may pay their respects. The faithful will be able to continue to pay their respects until Friday evening at 7:00 pm (1:00 pm EST).
On Friday at 8:00 pm (2:00 pm EST), the camerlengo, in a private ceremony, will preside over the closing and sealing of the coffin, in the presence of seven other senior cardinals. A white silk veil will be placed over the pope’s face and sprinkled with Holy water. A bag containing coins minted during his papacy will be placed in the coffin along with a one-page written account of his papacy — known in Italian as a “rogito,” a word indicating an official deed. It is read aloud by the master of liturgical ceremonies and then rolled up and slipped inside a cylindrical tube that is placed inside the coffin. Another copy is kept in the Vatican archives. The cover of the coffin bears a cross and the papal coat of arms.
Francis’s coat of arms, which he kept from when he was bishop, features a shield and the monogram of his Jesuit order, with the words “Miserando atque eligendo,” Latin for “Having had mercy, he called him.” It comes from an episode in the Gospel where Christ picks a seemingly unworthy person to follow him.
In the Third and final station, Pope Francis’s funeral will take place outdoors in front of St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday April April 26, 2025, starting at 10:00 am local time (4:00 am EST). The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, will lead the service. The service will be simpler than papal funerals of the past — in keeping with Pope Francis’s own wishes. He had long expressed a desire to emphasize his pastoral role as Bishop of Rome, in death as in life.
At the end of the funeral, Re will deliver the “Final Commendation and Farewell” – a concluding prayer where the Pope will be formally entrusted to God.
In a departure from tradition, Pope Francis will not be buried in the Vatican Grottoes but in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore — a papal church outside Vatican territory, in Rome’s Monti district. Rather, as per the Pope’s request, he will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. It is a choice rich with symbolism: Francis often visited the basilica before and after major trips, praying before the icon of Salus Populi Romani, a revered image of the Virgin Mary. Pope Francis will be the first Pope buried in Santa Maria Maggiore since Pope Clement IX was laid to rest there.
The funeral procession will travel from St. Peter’s Square to the Basilica at a walking pace along a route approximately 5.5km in length and will pass by many of Rome’s many famous landmarks including the Colosseum.
Upon arrival to the Basilica, the Pope will be met by a group of poor people who will pay their final respects, who will be on the steps leading to the Basilica. This show of respect is to reflect on Francis’s devotion to serving the poor and oppressed during his reign.
The burial will be a private service, but visitors to the tomb will be allowed shortly afterwards. The tomb will be inscribed only with the Latin name for Francis, Franciscus.
Once the burial is completed, the Catholic Church begins nine days of official mourning, known as the “novemdiales”, a tradition, which dates back to ancient Rome, which involves specific rituals and observances to honor the deceased Pope. The “sede vacante,” meaning “the seat is vacant” in Latin, is the period between the death of a Pope and the election of his successor.
The papal conclave will begin on May 7, 2025. One hundred and thirty five (135) Cardinals will meet on the morning of May 7th for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica with the purpose of praying for the wisdom needed to choose the next pope. The conclave will take place in the nearby Sistine Chapel, a chapel in Vatican City renowned for its Renaissance art that was closed to the public April 28. It will remain off-limits until the conclave is completed.
Photos released by the Vatican of the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, Francis's residence at the Vatican
Vatican City News Articles
Procession from the Casa Santa Marta Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica
April 23, 2025
Pope Francis Lying in State at St. Peter's Basilica
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
The Basilica was the first church to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary when it was built in the 4th century. It is one of Rome’s four major basilicas.
Pope Francis had a deep spiritual connection to the Virgin Mary, and he often came to the Basilica and prayed in front of an icon of Mary for protection before a journey. On his first day as Pope in 2013, he left the Vatican to pray in Santa Maria Maggiore.
Pope Francis had decided in May 2022 that he would be buried in the Basilica after a visit with Santa Maria Maggiore’s senior priest, the Lithuanian Rolandas Makrickas. In an interview with Father Makrickas with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, he said Pope Francis called him a week after one of his visits and told him that “the Virgin Mary has told me to prepare my tomb. Find a place for it, because I want to be buried in this basilica, and you’ve been a bit of a prophet.” The place Mackrickas found is next to the icon of Mary that the Pope so loved.
Francis revealed his plan to be buried in the Basilica in December of 2023, explaining that he felt a “very strong connection” with the basilica. “I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore,” Francis said. “Because it is my great devotion.”
The niche in the basilica where Francis will be interred was previously used to store candlestick holders.
Photograph: Holy See press office handout/EPA
Pope Francis, 265th Successor of Saint Peter
On 13 March 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected as the 265th pope, succeeding Benedict XVI after his resignation. Born on 17 December 1936, in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis became a Jesuit priest in 1969 and was later appointed Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998. He was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and served as President of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference from 2005 to 2011.
Pope Francis was known throughout his papacy for his humility and bridge-building, commitment to social justice, and focus on interfaith dialogue. The pope emphasized mercy, compassion, and care for the poor and marginalized. Pope Francis made an apostolic visit to Canada in 2022, as a penitential pilgrimage, to continue walking together in truth and reconciliation with Indigenous people.
On April 21 2025, Pope Francis passed away peacefully.
The Final Resting Place of Pope Francis
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Last Updated on: May 2, 2025
