Death and funeral of Pope Francis

On 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday), at 07:35 CEST (UTC+2), Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at Domus Sanctae Marthae in Vatican City. His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo, in a broadcast by Vatican Media and in a video statement at 09:45 on the same day. Francis had served as pope, the head of the Catholic Church, for twelve years since his election on 13 March 2013.

Francis's death followed a five-week stay in hospital a month earlier, where he suffered from a respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia. The cause of his death was officially registered as a stroke followed by irreversible cardiac arrest. Francis's Requiem Mass was celebrated on 26 April, five days after his death, and he was buried at Santa Maria Maggiore. The consequent conclave, which began on 7 May, elected Robert Francis Prevost as Francis's successor, who took the papal name Leo XIV, and was inaugurated on 18 May.

Elected in March 2013 at the age of 76, Francis was then reported to be healthy despite having suffered from chronic lung damage, due in part to the lung excision he had as a young man. His doctors had said the lung tissue removed then would not significantly affect his health. The only concern would be decreased respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection. In the last few years of his life, he was prone to bouts of influenza and bronchitis in the winter. Knee problems and sciatica had prompted him to frequently use a wheelchair, walker, or cane.