Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, the Vatican says

2 hours ago 4

CBS News Live

Rome — Pope Francis, who challenged profoundly rooted norms and made it his ngo to alteration the cognition of the Catholic Church astir the world, has died astatine the property of 88. The Vatican said Francis died conscionable aft 7:30 a.m. section clip connected Monday, a time aft Easter.

Francis had experienced a fig of wellness issues successful caller years, including two abdominal surgeries and respective serious respiratory infections. He spent spent five weeks in the hospital in February and March 2025 with bronchitis that developed into pneumonia in some lungs. He marked the 12th day of his papacy from his infirmary country successful Rome.

The pontiff was pushed successful a wheelchair into the country for an interview at his Vatican residence with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell successful April 2024. But portion helium was having trouble walking, helium spoke intelligibly during the hourlong conversation about his prayers for an extremity to the wars successful Gaza and Ukraine. In much caller appearances, however, the pontiff intelligibly struggled for enactment arsenic helium delivered planned remarks.

After being elected by his chap Catholic cardinals successful 2013, Francis acceptable the code with his archetypal authoritative enactment arsenic pope, reversing a centuries-old contented — by simply asking for help.

Pope Francis waves to thousands of followers arsenic helium arrives astatine the Manila Cathedral connected Jan. 16, 2015, successful Manila, Philippines.

Normally aft a caller pope is elected, they travel retired and bless the masses gathered astatine St. Peter's Square astatine the Vatican. But erstwhile Francis was elected, helium came retired and archetypal asked the faithful to bless and commune for him.

"I privation to inquire you a favor," helium said. "Before the bishop blesses the people, I inquire that you would commune to the lord to bless me."

It whitethorn look a subtle change, but on with his acquainted greeting and farewell to the assemblage successful Italian that day, it acceptable the code for his full papacy. Francis made it wide that helium identified himself arsenic a member pilgrim, not arsenic an imperial pope. He didn't privation to support starring a one-way monologue from the highest station successful the Catholic Church, but a dialogue.

As pope, the antheral antecedently known arsenic Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose to sanction himself aft Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, known for his simplicity and humanity.

The archetypal pope from the New World, calved and raised successful Argentina, helium said helium wanted "a poorer Church" and 1 that would "include the excluded."

He acceptable an illustration by choosing to unrecorded successful Room 201 astatine the Santa Marta — a tiny Vatican edifice usually utilized for visiting priests — alternatively than successful the lavish papal apartments utilized by his predecessors. Francis carried his ain bag, and walked crossed Rome to bargain his ain brace of glasses.

His tendency to scope retired to mean radical sent the bulletproof "popemobiles" into storage.

"I cannot greet radical from wrong a sardine can," Francis famously explained, "even if it is made of glass."

He became 1 of the astir fashionable nationalist figures successful the world, regularly speaking up for the voiceless and starring by illustration — whether that was by eating with the homeless, washing inmates' feet, oregon providing a location successful Italy for migrants and refugees fleeing warfare oregon economical instability.

Francis railed against consumerism and individualism, and helium insisted that "unfair economical structures" were a usurpation of quality rights.

He besides pushed for advancement successful combating clime change, adjacent publishing an encyclical — a ceremonial missive from himself to Catholic leaders astir the satellite — connected the topic. And helium reformed the Curia — the cardinal medication of the religion — allowing laic men and women to tally Vatican offices, positions historically reserved for cardinals and bishops.

Francis continued to springiness his nationalist prayers during the coronavirus lockdowns, but with crowds banned, "the people's pope" was near to present his messages successful an bare St. Peter's Square.

Wasting nary clip aft getting his COVID vaccine, Francis made a daring, first-ever papal sojourn to Iraq, contempt immense information risks. In Mosul, wherever ISIS militants erstwhile ransacked churches, Pope Francis prayed successful them.

A fewer months later, his wellness yet caught up with him. He spent 10 days in a Rome hospital in July 2021 recovering from a scheduled country to region portion of his colon. It was the archetypal clip helium was hospitalized aft being named pope.

In 2022, a torn genu ligament forced Francis to finally slow down. He was utilizing a wheelchair and canceling some Vatican celebrations and overseas trips, generating persistent rumors that Francis, similar Pope Benedict XVI, would resign. When Benedict died, Francis presided over his funeral, the archetypal clip successful modern past a pope has laid his predecessor to rest.

Over time, Francis' papacy began to beryllium defined by a taxable helium did not choose: the question of clerical enactment maltreatment scandals that stretched to the precise highest levels of the Catholic Church. He was accused, astatine first, of being insensitive successful his dilatory effect to the crisis.

Then helium tried to instrumentality power of the narrative, notably summoning elder clerics from astir the satellite to the Vatican successful aboriginal 2019. From that gathering came caller Vatican laws astir enactment abuse, and a mandate that each diocese acceptable up a wide reporting process. Francis besides abolished the top-level confidentiality of the "pontifical secret," which had shrouded the enactment maltreatment situation successful yet different furniture of systemic secrecy.

His diplomatic accomplishment was connected show erstwhile he played a cardinal role in restoring relations betwixt the United States and its decades-old enemy, Cuba.

Francis' elemental benignant was a merchandise of his humble beginnings. He was calved successful 1936 to an migrant Italian railway idiosyncratic and a housewife successful Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a young man, helium mislaid portion of a lung to an infection. He worked astatine assorted menial jobs and studied chemistry.

After being ordained arsenic a clergyman astatine the precocious property of 32, helium made visiting the slums of Buenos Aires and caring for the city's mediocre a diagnostic of his ministry.

During a property league aboard 1 papal formation years later, helium appeared to ace unfastened a abstraction for homosexuals successful the church, with a single, highly symbolic phrase: "Who americium I to judge?" he asked when a newsman fired him a question astir LGBTQ rights.

But portion helium whitethorn person received wide recognition for changing the code of the religion erstwhile it comes to acceptance, the church's teachings and argumentation did not change.

Despite drafting occurrence from Catholic conservatives for being excessively liberal, Francis reaffirmed long-standing religion doctrines opposing same-sex marriage, and connected beauteous overmuch everything other from commencement power to ordaining women.

Francis claimed that helium lone brought a tiny container to the papal conclave successful 2013 that saw him elected, due to the fact that helium expected to beryllium going backmost location to Argentina.

Instead, neither his life, nor the papacy, were ever the aforesaid again.

Chris Livesay