“Vere, Franciscus Mortus Est”

This was the traditional announcement made by the Camerlengo, the papal chamberlain, to announce the death of His Holiness, Pope Francis, this morning, on Easter Monday, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.

The death of Pope Francis at eighty-eight years old marks the end of his twelve-year pontificate.

This was his last post on Twitter, which he shared on Easter Sunday.

How poignant because my own mother passed away to eternal life several years ago on Easter Sunday morning.

“To die in the Easter Octave is a particular grace, for pope and peasant alike.”

Indeed. May we receive this special grace when it is our time to be called home.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17th Decemeber 1936, a Jesuit from Argentina, became the 266th pope of the Holy Catholic Church, becoming the first Latin American and Jesuit Pope, breaking a 1,300-year tradition of the Church’s history of European pontiffs. .

Before becoming pope, Jorge Bergoglio worked as a nightclub bouncer in Buenos Aires. He also worked as a chemical technician and even considered marriage. A profound encounter with faith redirected his life, and he joined the Jesuits in 1958 This unlikely background shaped a leader who never forgot his ordinary roots.
When he became Pope in 2013, he was the first to choose the name Francis: The saint of poverty and simplicity.

Pope Francis chose his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi, because he admired the friar’s love for the poor, & life of simplicity and peace.

Unlike most new popes who move into the luxurious Apostolic Palace with its 10 rooms and staff of 30, Pope Francis refused this.

Francis refused, choosing instead a modest 2-room apartment in the Vatican guesthouse. “I need to live among people,” he explained.

But his humility wasn’t just aesthetic. When he washed the feet of 12 prisoners in 2013—including women and Muslims—it shocked traditionalists. For 2,000 years, popes had only washed priests’ feet. His simple act rewrote papal symbolism.

Francis drove a 1984 Renault with 190,000 miles when a priest gave it to him. He rejected the bulletproof “Popemobile” when possible. When asked about his choice of modest cars, he responded: “How can it be that a servant of God becomes so rich?”

Despite health struggles, including lung issues and surgeries, Pope Francis continued his mission with remarkable resilience.

Traditional leadership projects strength. Francis displayed vulnerability. With part of one lung removed at 21, he spoke openly about his health struggles. During his final hospitalisation in 2025, he refused special treatment. Weakness became a different kind of strength.

Francis traveled to places popes rarely visit: • War zones • Refugee camps • Prisons • Slums • Environmental disaster areas.

His focus on “the peripheries” wasn’t just geographical—it was a leadership philosophy.
Go where power isn’t.

Compare Francis to predecessors:
Benedict: Focused on theological precision
John Paul II: Emphasized doctrinal clarity

Francis focused on encounter over enforcement.

In his final hours, his doctors begged him not to leave bed rest, but he refused. It was for us and our joy that he chose to ride through St. Peter’s and gave the Urbi et Orbi, on Easter Sunday morning, knowing the risks.

He remained faithful and dutiful, and worked diligently until the very end…….just like the late Queen Elizabeth II who was born today in 1926.

SOME OF POPE FRANCIS’ ICONIC MOMENTS:

Pope Francis: “If someone insults my mother, they can expect a punch in the face.”

Female journalist: “Pope Francis, will little girls be able to dream of being deacons?”
Pope Francis: “No.”
Pope Francis tells a group of women to stop acting like men.

You can view them all HERE

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However, the question remains: was Pope Francis’ humility a personal virtue or a permanent revolution in papal leadership?

Although he died, leaving the church divided and the traditional Catholic community feeling hurt, neglected, betrayed, and ostracised, in this post, I chose to focus on the positives of his character and his pontificate.

The Church now enters a period called Sede Vacante — the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of a new one.

I also pray that God grants us a pope who is perhaps a little less woke, and more of a traditionalist.

A Solemn Prayer for the Repose of the Soul of the Holy Father

Eternal Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, In this sacred hour, we commend to Your infinite mercy the soul of Your servant, Papa Francesco, Successor of Peter, Vicar of Christ on Earth, Guardian of the Sacred Deposit, and Shepherd of Your flock.

He who once bore the weight of the keys,

Now lays down his earthly burden at Your throne.

Grant him, O Lord, the reward prepared from all eternity for those who love You faithfully.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Litany for a Holy Pontiff

Lord, have mercy on us.

— Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.

— Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,