Due to an illness that progressed to pneumonia in both lungs, the Pontiff spent his last weeks in the hospital. It will be at least 15 days until the Conclave, where cardinals convene in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to select a successor. Unlike most of his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighborhood of Rome after his body is placed in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for an official period of mourning.
Just yesterday, on Easter Sunday, Francis welcomed Catholic faithful who had flocked to see him in St. Peter’s Square. After the high holiday service, he gave his ‘Urbi et Orbi’ benediction from a balcony facing the Piazza.
US Vice President JD Vance, who was spending Easter in Rome with his family, had a brief meeting with Francis on his way to the basilica. ‘Brief’: The Vatican described the meeting as lasting only a few minutes. Francis was selected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who was retiring, making him the first non-European pope in 1,300 years. Francis had maintained a hectic routine until his last weeks, despite a number of prior health problems and decreased mobility brought on in part by his growing years and swollen waist.
He visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore on his 12-day tour of south-east Asia and Oceania in September 2024. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Francis will be known for his rather liberal views on a number of issues, which made him both well-liked and divisive. He made environmental concerns the focal point of his pontificate, showed tolerance for divorcees, and permitted priests to bless same-sex couples in some situations. Additionally, he stated in 2023 that transgender individuals could be baptized provided it did not lead to “confusion” or controversy.
He did, however, maintain his position on abortion. Last year, the Vatican published a document signed by Francis that called terminations “an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense.”
As he continues to heal from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia, Francis came out of his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and give them a surprise popemobile ride in the piazza. His actions drew raucous cheers and ovation. “Viva il Papa!”—which means Long live the pope—and “Bravo!” the crowd shouted as Francis looped through the square in his open-topped popemobile and then up and down the main avenue leading to it. He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him.
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” Francis said. He didn’t celebrate the Easter Mass in the piazza, delegating it to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter´s Basilica.
However, Francis gave the apostolic blessing in Latin after the Mass concluded, spending more than 20 minutes on the loggia balcony above the basilica entrance. Francis spent around fifty minutes outside in total. After Francis criticized the Trump administration’s handling of illegal migrants, Vance attempted to patch up his tense relationship with the Holy Father during a quick meeting in his hotel on his way to the basilica.
Vance, a mature Catholic convert, seemed to have been ignored by the Pontiff and was compelled to meet with Archbishop Peter Gallagher, the foreign minister, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state of the Vatican. The Holy Father and the vice president had a “brief” meeting that lasted only a few minutes, according to the Vatican.
Regarding migration and the Trump administration’s intentions to deport large numbers of people, Vance and the Pope have been very entangled. During his pontificate, Francis has made helping migrants a priority. On February 14, Francis was initially admitted to the hospital. He had to cancel engagements due to his treatment, including his weekly prayer to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
He was hospitalized for three days in March 2023 due to bronchitis, which led to his terminal illness. He underwent a three-hour procedure to fix an abdominal hernia in June of that year. Due to the consequences of influenza and lung inflammation, he was also forced to postpone his November 2023 travel to Dubai for the COP28 climate meeting.
