News of Pope Francis‘ passing came just hours after an Easter Sunday appearance, where he addressed crowds and even made his final ride in the Popemobile.
His death came after a serious health battle, though he was reportedly recovering, having been released from the hospital late last month.
So what changed in such a short amount of time?
Pope Francis cause of death
A death certificate issued by the Vatican lists the cause of Francis’ death as a stroke that prompted irreversible heart failure.
The certificate officially lists the cause of death as cerebral stroke, coma, and “cardiocirculatory collapse.” Vatican City’s director of the health, Prof. Andrea Arcangeli, signed the document.
It also lists Francis’ prior health struggles, including the bilateral pneumonia he was recently hospitalized for, hypertension and Type II diabetes.
Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his papacy.
For the faithful, those were weeks of fear that his illness could be fatal or lead to another papal resignation after that of Pope Benedict XVI, a surprise move that led to the election of Francis.
The pontiff’s return to the Vatican on March 23 brought relief to many at the time.
The timing of Pope Francis’ death
The death of Francis was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Irish-born Vatican camerlengo, a position that will be important in the coming weeks as he takes charge of the administration of the Holy See until a new pope is elected.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” Farrell said. “His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.”
Farrell made the announcement just over two hours after Francis had died. Farrell spoke from Domus Santa Marta, the apartment on Vatican grounds where Francis lived and where he had returned to recover after a hospitalization for double pneumonia.
Pope Francis’ final wishes
The Vatican said that in his will, Pope Francis decreed he would be buried in a simple underground tomb — with only “Franciscus,” his name in Latin, written on it — at St. Mary Major Basilica, home to Francis’ favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, to whom he was particularly devoted.
Easter Sunday farewell
Francis made his final public appearance a day earlier on Easter Sunday. He appeared very frail, and had delegated the celebration of the Easter Mass to another cardinal. But though his voice was weak, he blessed a crowd of faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter,” he said from the same loggia where Jorge Mario Bergoglio was introduced to the world on March 13, 2013 as the 266th pope.
Francis also made a surprise ride in the square in his popemobile, drawing wild cheers and applause.
Beforehand, he met briefly with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said on Monday during a visit to India.
Francis’ final Easter Sunday message, read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of liturgical ceremonies, is here.
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