Pope Francis: Obituary

Salt + Light Media

Monday, April 21, 2025

Bright stained-glass image of Jesus with a white and red halo, his right arm raised, palm forward, and his left hand open to the side.

“That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.”

(Address to Representatives of the Communications Media, March 16, 2013)

We are deeply saddened by the death of our beloved Pope Francis on April 21, 2025. He was the 266th successor to the See of Peter, a diligent shepherd of the Catholic Church throughout the world, and a faithful Servant of the Servants of God.

He was a Pope of poverty. From Mediterranean refugees on Lampedusa, to migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, to the people of South Sudan building their new country, he embraced those on the margins with the tender love of Christ.

He was a pope of peace. He called on civil authorities and people of goodwill throughout the world to embrace each other in fraternity and concord.

He was a pope who loved and protected creation. He invited us all to worship God through a transformative encounter with our common home, one that moves us beyond commercial exchange to a deepened sense of mutual responsibility and interdependence.

He was a pope of reconciliation. He came to Canadian and Indigenous soil to apologize and pursue healing for the deep pain inflicted in residential schools.

He was a pope of hope and pilgrimage. He set the Church on the path of deeper listening and continual growth, empowering us to walk along the way of synodality.

Miserando atque eligendo

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in a loving home of Italian immigrants. He studied chemical technology and worked various jobs before entering the Jesuit novitiate in 1958. He professed final vows in 1960, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1969. He served as Provincial of the Jesuits’ Argentinian province from 1973 to 1979, and then held a series of academic positions until 1992, when Pope John Paul II named him an auxiliary and later coadjutor Bishop of Buenos Aires. He succeeded Cardinal Antonio Quarracino as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and was named a cardinal himself in 2001.

Throughout his episcopal and papal ministry, he bore the motto, Miserando atque eligendo: “having mercy, and choosing," referring to Jesus' call to St. Matthew to follow him (cf. Matthew 9:9). Cardinal Bergoglio's service to the Church in Argentina was marked by a close pastoral presence to the margins, exemplified by his regular visits to the barrios of Buenos Aires. He carried this commitment to the poor and forgotten into his service as Bishop of Rome and Pope of the universal Church. His environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015) and follow-up exhortation Laudate Deum (2023) urged us to renew our care for the planet, reverse climate change, and transition our energy production and use from fossil fuels to renewable resources. His social encyclical Fratelli Tutti (2020) called on us and on world leaders to reach out in peace to the whole human family, amidst the divisions of a global pandemic and the threat of ongoing conflict.

Pope Francis' 47 apostolic visits abroad enabled him to continue "smelling like the sheep," encountering the faithful throughout the world, and directly addressing their unique circumstances. Beginning with his poignant act of repentance on Lampedusa, to his appeals for generous hospitality in Hungary and Marseille, he reminded us all of the courage and suffering of refugees and migrants. His journeys to Iraq, Abu Dhabi (the UAE), Bahrain, the United Nations, and Canada set the stage for his enduring message of peace, reconciliation, and fraternal dialogue. He was the first pope to travel to Mongolia, and the first in decades to go to Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste, reminding us that those we might consider most remote are at the centre of God's heart. Through the two jubilees of his papacy, in 2025 and the Extraordinary Jubilee of 2016, he called us to renew our hope in Christ and show God’s unwavering mercy to the world. His four appearances at World Youth Day, including a full-blown apostolic visit to Portugal for Lisbon 2023, inspired us to hope and trust in God’s plans for the Church and for our lives.

His whole pontificate was marked by a burning desire to turn the Church’s internal struggles into bold opportunities for mission and renewal. He got to work immediately, promulgating his profound exhortation Evangelli Gaudium, on the Joy of the Gospel, a mere nine months after his election to the Chair of St. Peter. He diligently reformed the Roman Curia, setting it on a decisive path towards greater accountability, integrity, and an outward orientation in the joy of the Gospel. His landmark Synod on Synodality reinvigorated the spirit and practice of dialogue among the Church’s vast range of people and perspectives, roles and experiences, hopes and concerns. His Commission on the Protection of Minors, the Council of Cardinals, and a comprehensive series of fiscal reforms all served to improve the accountability, collegial governance, and trustworthiness of Church leadership.

While we mourn his death and pray for the repose of his soul, we are also moved to express our gratitude to God for sending us such an ardent, faithful, surprising, and joy-filled shepherd, who refused to let the limits of our time hamper the dream of who we could one day be. Pope Francis’ indelible impact on the Church and the world will reverberate for generations to come.

For our complete coverage of Pope Francis’ pontificate, including original documentaries, Vatican events, Apostolic Visits, addresses and other articles, visit slmedia.org/pope-francis.