‘A witness of joy and hope’: Pope Francis dies on Easter Monday, aged 88

On Easter Monday, the world received the sad news that Pope Francis had died at home in his apartment at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Vatican City, at the age of 88. The director of the Vatican’s department of health services, Dr Andrea Arcangeli, confirmed that he had died of a stroke and heart attack, having struggled with lung disease in recent months. Just the previous day, the Pope had appeared in St Peter’s Square to bless the thousands of people gathered there to celebrate Easter, surprising the cheering crowds by making a circuit of the piazza in his popemobile.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced the Pope’s death in a statement released by the Vatican on Easter Monday at about 6pm Melbourne time, saying: ‘Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

‘At 7.35am 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 His Church.

‘He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.

‘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.’

Responding in his own statement on Monday night, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli said, ‘As the Church enters this time of Easter filled with the light and hope of the world, it is with deep sadness that we have received the news of the death of His Holiness, Pope.

Pope Francis, who came from the peripheries of the world, has been the father of the poor, and a witness of joy and hope. May the Lord, he so faithfully trusted, now welcome him into eternal life.

‘We unite with all the People of God in praying for the eternal rest of his soul and entrust him to the tender loving mercy of the Father.’

Noting that Pope Francis had come ‘from the peripheries of the world,’ Archbishop Comensoli said he ‘has been the Father of the poor, and a witness of joy and hope. May the Lord he so faithfully trusted now welcome him into eternal life.’

In a statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, ACBC President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said that the news of the Pope’s death ‘will be received with great sadness by Catholics, and by people of good will, all over the world’. From the time of Pope Francis’ election in 2013, he said, ‘his simplicity and humility set the tone for a papacy which would be marked by an emphasis on the mercy and compassion of God, and on the Church’s vocation to be a sign and bearer of that merciful love in an increasingly troubled world.

‘His famous description of the Church as a field hospital where wounds could be healed and hearts could be warmed was a call to a renewal of the Church’s life and mission, grounded in a return to Christ as the source and inspiration of everything the Church sought to do and to be,’ Archbishop Costelloe said.

Cardinal Mykola Bychok, head of the Eparchy of Sts Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania—and Australia’s only cardinal—released a statement on Monday night describing his great sadness at ‘the death of a much-loved father’.

He gave freely of his gifts and had a unique personal approach to all he met. He lived according to his motto miserando atque eligendo (‘Lowly but chosen’).

When he was raised to the College of Cardinals in December last year, Cardinal Bychok says he ‘asked the Holy Father to pray for Ukraine, to help free stolen Ukrainian children and to pray for me in my new mission as an Australian–Ukrainian Cardinal. I now pray that Pope Francis may intercede before Christ for the people of Australia and Ukraine and that God may grant me the grace to live my mission as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.’

Describing the late pontiff as ‘a Pope of peace’ and ‘a strong defender of life and the dignity of every person’, Cardinal Bychok said that Pope Francis was ‘a man of simple piety who strove to bring the Church closer to people. He gave freely of his gifts and had a unique personal approach to all he met. He lived according to his motto miserando atque eligendo (“Lowly but chosen”)’.

Currently on a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, Cardinal Bychok said he would ‘depart for Rome as soon as practical to take part in the funeral rites for Pope Francis and to remain in the Eternal City to participate in the Conclave that will elect his successor’.

As well as calling for prayer for the eternal repose of the Holy Father, Cardinal Bychok asked the faithful to pray for the cardinal-electors who will meet in the Conclave, ‘that the Holy Spirit may enlighten our hearts and minds that we may choose a worthy candidate as the 267th Bishop of Rome and Successor of Saint Peter’.

Today, the prayers of more than a billion people—from all nations and every walk of life—go with Pope Francis to his rest

Speaking in Melbourne on Monday evening, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the Pope, whom he described as ‘a devoted champion and a loving father’ to Australian Catholics.

‘Today, the prayers of more than a billion people—from all nations and every walk of life—go with Pope Francis to his rest,’ the prime minister said.

‘He urged us to remember all we hold in common, and he asked the world to hear the cry of the earth, our common home.

‘He invited world leaders to join him and, to quote him, “emerge from the dark night of wars and environmental devastation in order to turn our common future into the dawn of a new and radiant day”.’

As the first pope from the southern hemisphere, Pope Francis was ‘close to the people of Australia’, the prime minister said, noting that he had asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to fly all Commonwealth flags at half-mast on Tuesday as a mark of respect.

After reading his statement, Mr Albanese visited St Patrick’s Cathedral to pay his respects and was welcomed by Dean of the Cathedral Msgr Stuart Hall.

Only weeks after he and Queen Camilla met privately with Pope Francis in Rome, King Charles expressed their deep sadness at the news of the Pope’s death, adding that their ‘heavy hearts’ had ‘somewhat eased, however, to know that His Holiness was able to share an Easter Greeting with the Church and the world he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.

‘His Holiness will be remembered 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,’ the King said. ‘Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.’

Melbourne Jesuit priest Fr Andrew Hamilton responded to the news of the death of Pope Francis—the first pope to have been elected from the Society of Jesus—by observing that ‘At these times we remember how much our friends have meant to us and all the ways in which we shall miss them.

‘In a world that sees refugees and immigrants as a threat, disregards the victims of war, trashes the environment, rewards self-interest and cheapens religious faith, he has wept with those mistreated, pleaded their cause and preached a Gospel of joy. He has faced all the things that make for gloom, done what he could to change them, and remained full of hope. For that we shall miss and grieve him.’

Responding to the news on Monday evening, Dr Jerry Nockles, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Australia, said, ‘Today, we have lost a shepherd whose unwavering commitment to the poor and vulnerable has been the cornerstone of his papacy.’

Remarking that Pope Francis’ call for ‘a poor church for the poor’ had been ‘a guiding light for our organisation and the countless Australians we serve’, Dr Nockles said the Holy Father’s teachings—particularly his encyclicals Laudato si’ and Fratelli tutti—had shaped CSSA’s ‘advocacy and service delivery across Australia, particularly in remote and disadvantaged communities’.

Caritas Australia also highlighted Pope Francis’ care for those at the margins. ‘From day one, embracing the legacy of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, he has stood up for mercy, justice, human dignity and compassion’, a statement from the Catholic aid agency said.

‘Pope Francis has constantly urged his flock to be at the service of the whole of God’s family. He has chosen leaders from the fringes, people with deep pastoral sensitivity. In his recently published autobiography, Hope, he quotes the words of Gustav Mahler, ‘tradition is not the worship of ashes; it is the preservation of fire.’

Robert Fitzgerald AM, Chair at Caritas Australia, said that Caritas ‘gives thanks to God for the life and leadership of a figure of enormous hope’, remarking that ‘the world has been richly blessed and will mourn his loss.’

May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.

At 8pm Rome time on Easter Monday (4am Melbourne time), a special prayer service began at the late Pope’s residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, presided over by Cardinal Kevin J Farrell. The rite included the formal verification of the Pope’s death, the placement of his body in a coffin, and its transfer to the chapel on the first floor of his residence.

In accordance with the late Pope’s final testament, which was dated 29 June 2022 and released by the Vatican at 8pm on 21 April (Rome time), Pope Francis’ mortal remains will be laid to rest finally in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

‘I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care,’ he wrote. The tomb, he said, should be ‘simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus’.

The testament concludes with a prayer: ‘May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.’