Pope Francis Dies at 88, Vatican Announces | 21 April 2025 | Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio), the first Latin American pontiff, passed away Monday morning at the age of 88. The Vatican’s Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, announced that the Pope died at 7:35 AM in Vatican City. “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,” Farrell said in a statement… After a grueling battle against double pneumonia and a bout of kidney failure in the hospital for 38 days, Pope Francis returned to the Vatican in March.