Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber,
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, at about 9:45am on Monday announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta, hours after Pope Francis had called for an end to wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, Yemen and other humanitarian crises in Myanmar, South Sudan, in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes, Lebanon, Syria, and thus, begging political leaders not to yield to fear but use the state resources under their custody to fight and eradicate hunger and promote development among the people, which, the Pope said, are weapons of peace, adding that, there can’t be peace without the freedom of religion, expression, thoughts and respect for one another views, just as the Pope on Sunday at around 11:30am, less than 20 hours to his death, met in person with the Vice President of United States, James David Vance after the Pope had called on President Donald Trump to end his anti-immigrant policy, asking Catholics in America to reject the anti-immigrant narratives canvassed by the US government led by President Donald Trump.

Pope Francis who died at the age of 88, according to the Vatican, passed away on Easter Monday at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta within Vatican City at exactly 7:35am.

His death comes hours after he came out openly and greeted Catholic faithful who were at the Vatican on Sunday for the Easter mass.

The announcement by Cardinal Farrel read: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.

“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.

“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 One and Triune God.”

Details of Pope Francis activities and messages to people all over the world on Sunday, according to the Catholic news media, the Vatican News; “from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica, the Pope, who continues his recovery from bilateral pneumonia, greeted the crowds gathered in a tulip-filled St Peter’s Square.

He then passed on his text to be read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, and the Pope’s words rang out proclaiming: “Christ is risen.”

“Christ, my hope, has risen,” Pope Francis announced, calling on the faithful to turn their gaze to the empty tomb. He spoke of the resurrection not as an abstract idea but as a living force — one that challenges, heals, and empowers.

“Today too,” he said, “he takes upon himself all the evil that oppresses us and transfigures it.”

“Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness, and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge,” he said. “Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.”

But his words were not just a proclamation of faith – they were a cry to humankind, for humanity. The Pope’s gaze, even in this moment of joy, did not stray from the suffering.

He spoke first of the Holy Land, “wounded by conflict”, and home to an “endless outburst of violence”. He extended his closeness, in particular, to the people of Gaza and to the Christian community in the enclave where “the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.”

“I appeal once again,” he said, “for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, for the release of the hostages… and for access to humanitarian aid.” His words once again called on the international community to act and “come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”

The Pope’s prayers extended to the Christian communities in Lebanon and in Syria, “presently experiencing a delicate transition in its history,” and urged the whole Church “to keep the Christians of the beloved Middle East in its thoughts and prayers.”

Turning then to Yemen, “experiencing one of the world’s most serious and prolonged humanitarian crises because of war,” Pope Francis invited all those involved to find a solution “through a constructive dialogue.”

For Ukraine, “devastated by war,” he invoked the Risen Christ’s gift of peace. May all involved, he said, continue efforts toward a “just and lasting peace.”

He spoke, too, of the South Caucasus, where long-standing tensions call for urgent reconciliation. In particular, he prayed for a final peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and for healing in the region.

In the Western Balkans, Pope Francis prayed that the Easter light inspire leaders to calm tensions and reject destabilising actions choosing instead a path of harmony, together with their neighbours.

The African continent, too, was very present in the Pope’s Easter prayers.

His first appeal came for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then for those of Sudan and South Sudan, and for those caught in the violence of the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region.

“In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians and attack schools, hospitals and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity”.

He prayed, especially, for Christians unable to live their faith freely across the continent. “There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and respect for the views of others,” he said. And no peace, he added, without true disarmament.

“The light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that divide us,” Pope Francis said. These barriers are not only physical, but political, economic, and spiritual. He called on nations to use their resources not for rearmament, but to combat hunger, invest in development, and “care for one another.”

The Pope appealed to all those who hold positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear but to use our resources to help those in need, “to fight hunger and encourage initiatives that promote development.” “These,” the Pope said, “are the ‘weapons’ of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death!”

Pope Francis did not forget the people of Myanmar, who continue to suffer the effects of conflict and, most recently, the devastating earthquake in Sagaing. He expressed deep sorrow for the thousands who have died, for orphans, and for the elderly who remain. But he also remembered the hope that is emerging from the strife-ridden land: “The announcement of a ceasefire”, he said, “is a sign of hope for the whole of Myanmar”.

His final thought was that, in this Jubilee year, Easter may also be a fitting occasion for the liberation of prisoners of war and political prisoners.

“What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day” decried the Pope, before praying: “May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions”.

Finally, the Pope emphasised that this Easter, the Risen Christ “fills us with the certainty that we too are called to share in the life that knows no end, when the clash of arms and the rumble of death will be heard no more”, the Vatican News report ends in quote.

It would be recalled that Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the pontiff’s residence in Rome on Sunday, the Vatican said, in a previously unannounced visit during Easter celebrations, according to local media.

New York Times reported that “The Vatican said the meeting was a “brief” exchange of Easter wishes that lasted “a few minutes.” In a photograph released by the Vatican, the pope is seated in a wheelchair opposite Mr. Vance as the pair talk.

The meeting came after the pope criticized the Trump administration’s deportation policies and urged Catholics to reject anti-immigrant narratives, in an unusually direct attack on the American government.

The rebuke came in the form of an open letter to American bishops in February, with some of the pope’s criticisms apparently leveled directly at statements made by Vance.

Vance, who was baptized as a Catholic six years ago, has been spending Holy Week in Rome with his family. He attended the Good Friday service in St Peter’s Basilica. On Saturday, Mr Vance met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister.

Mr Vance had not been expected to meet the pope, who only recently left the hospital after spending five weeks there in serious condition. The pope has made unannounced appearances since his hospital stay, but his health tightly restricts his planned engagements.

“I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,” Mr. Vance told the pope, according to video footage of the visit. An aide to the pope handed Mr Vance gifts, including three chocolate Easter eggs for his children, a tie with the Vatican’s emblem and rosaries. “I pray for you every day,” Mr Vance told the pope before he left.

The two met at Casa Santa Marta, the pope’s residency, as the Sunday mass continued in St Peter’s Square with a cardinal presiding over the liturgy in place of Francis. The pope later appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waved at the tens of thousands gathered below, and wished them a happy Easter.

In a message read to the crowds by an aide in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reiterated his condemnation of anti-immigrant positions.

“How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!” he wrote.

Before entering the hospital, the pope, a staunch advocate for migrants and refugees, had directed a sharp critique toward President Trump over his administration’s immigration policy, saying that deporting people who come from difficult situations violates the “dignity of many men and women, and of entire families.”

In those remarks, the pope appeared to give a riposte to Mr Vance, who has defended the deportation policies by referring to the Christian concept of “ordo amoris” — which he defined as a hierarchy of duties that prioritizes immediate obligations to one’s family or community over more distant needs. “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted” is “love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception,” Francis wrote in his open letter to American bishops”.

Earlier this month, we had reported that the Head of Catholic Church, Pope Francis on Sunday surprised pilgrims at the Saint Peters Square two weeks after leaving Hospital when he made first public appearance at the end of the Mass for the Jubilee of the Sick and Healthcare Workers, looking apparently more healthier and stronger than he was in late March, 2025 when he made public appearance through the window of Gemelli hospital in Rome where he has been under medical care since February 14, he was hospitalized for pneumonia.

We had reported that the Vatican says Pope Francis is still experiencing complex or chronic health conditions that affect multiple parts of his body systems but the Head of the Catholic Church is resting calmly since on Thursday, adding that, the prognosis or the likely outcome or the forecasted outcome of the current health conditions of the Pope is still guarded, this, as local media had earlier reported that the Pope confided on some of his aides that he may not make it alive with reports of some catholic officials already rehearsing for his funeral.

The Pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, February 14, following a bout of bronchitis, with his doctors later diagnosing bilateral pneumonia.

We had reported that despite the medical condition that he’s under the high flow of oxygen in the Hospital over double pneumonia, Pope Francis on Sunday, on the eve of the third year anniversary of the war in Ukraine launched by President Vladimir Putin led Russia Government, called on everyone in the world to remember victims of the war in Ukraine, describing the war which started on February 24, 2022 as painful, shameful for all humanity.

We had also reported that the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is not out of danger and his health worsened on Saturday evening, says Vatican.

The Pope’s funeral is allegedly being rehearsed after the 88-year-old warned he may not survive pneumonia.

The Swiss Guard protecting the Pope, 88, is rehearsing his funeral, with members under a curfew as they are ‘preparing for the pontiff’s death’, Swiss newspaper Blick claims.