When did Pope Francis die? Pope's death follows public appearance at Easter Sunday

Pope Francis the trailblazing Roman Catholic pontiff who advocated a more compassionate papacy and a less traditionalist approach than his predecessor has died the Vatican noted hours after making his final general appearance Easter Sunday at St Peter s Square Francis died at a m Monday morning in Italy or a m CT Dearest brothers and sisters Cardinal Kevin Ferrell the Vatican camerlengo noted in a message It is with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis At this morning the Bishop of Rome Francis returned to the house of the Father His entire life was dedicated to the operation of the Lord and of His Church the report continued He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness courage and universal love especially in favor of the poorest and the 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 Triune God Francis who was recovering from double pneumonia has only appeared in community a handful of times since returning to the Vatican on March after a -day hospital stay He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter but treated visitors to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza Francis on Easter Sunday also briefly met with U S Vice President JD Vance in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel where he lives The two exchanged Easter greetings after they got into a long-distance squabble over the Trump administration s deportation plans During the meeting the -year-old pope offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance s three young children who did not attend as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries I know you have not been feeling great but it s good to see you in better strength Vance explained the pope Thank you for seeing me What happens when a pope dies Cardinals were already being called to the Vatican following Francis death A pope s resignation or death triggers a centuries-old secretive process of succession and requires what s known as a Conclave Such a gathering of Catholic cardinals from around the world has been depicted in a current Hollywood movie by the same name As old intricate and rule-bound as the Vatican is it is also an organization that has no procedures in place to deal with an incapacitated leader DePaul University Catholic studies professor William Cavanaugh described NBC Chicago back in February when Francis was first hospitalized Part of what makes this more urgent now is just that because of the advancements of medicine it s feasible to keep people alive in methods that were not attainable in previous centuries times Cavanaugh recounted NBC Investigates At the Vatican in a post-Francis Conclave there would be the voting age members of the College of Cardinals including Cardinal Blase Cupich the Catholic Archbishop of Chicago I think the movie portrays accurately the mechanisms of a conclave Cavanaugh reported You know this happens when a pope dies or resigns and then the Cardinals get together and they lock themselves into the Sistine Chapel and debate about it And I think the movie accurately portrays that there s a lot of politicking that goes on There are nearly million Roman Catholics in the greater Chicago area and Northwest Indiana at several dioceses and hundreds of parishes and schools and more than billion Roman Catholics across the world When did Francis become pope Francis was born on Dec in Buenos Aires according to the Catholic News Agency His father was a railway worker who had immigrated to Argentina from Italy His mother s family also of Italian origin He was ordained a priest in as a Jesuit and served as the rector of a seminary a pastor and a professor before he became the pope at the age of in when he took over after Pope Benedict resigned a move unknown among modern-day popes and one that set up the sometimes tense situation where a pope and a pope emeritus were both alive He was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit His choice was unexpected When he was introduced from the balcony of St Peter s Basilica there was a gasp from the crowd followed by applause according to NBC News In Italian he joked As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world As pope he took the name of the Catholic friar St Francis of Assisi known for his life of poverty Francis was described by NBC News as a conservative with great compassion During his time as pope he did not change church doctrine but did steer the church in a new direction He encouraged priests to welcome divorced Catholics gay and lesbian couples and those who were living together without being married He invited members of a transgender region south of Rome as his guests to a luncheon lunch to mark the church s World Day of the Poor When challenged by conservative cardinals to affirm teaching on homosexuality he suggested that the could be a way to bless same-sex unions The Associated Press announced Francis refocused the papacy on such issues as the ecosystem asylum seekers and equality and away from other more contentious topics He rejected the luxurious trappings of the Vatican embraced the poor and criticized a church that he explained had become obsessed with abortion gay marriage and contraception Traditionalist objected to Francis progressive reforms which they viewed as contrary to church teachings In the former Vatican ambassador to the U S Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano called on Francis to resign A decade into his papacy Francis criticized what he called the backwardness of various conservatives in the church in the U S accusing them of replaced faith with ideology The AP shared He removed a bishop from his position in the diocese of Tyler Texas Joseph Strickland who had been a fierce critic of Francis and who wrote in a tweet that he had been undermining the deposit of faith Then Francis ousted another outspoken opponent to his reforms Cardinal Raymond Burke from his Vatican apartment and revoked his salary The pope was forced to cancel an address at the U N surroundings conference in Dubai because of a lung inflammation He only had one fully functioning lung after his other lung was partially removed due to an infection when he was a teenager He had had a series of physiological issues in new years with problems with his knee trouble with sciatica and surgery for a hernia and his colon