Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, passed away at the age of 88 on Easter Monday. The Vatican confirmed that he died peacefully at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, within Vatican City.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, formally announced the Pope’s death on Monday morning.
Reflecting on his passing, Andrea Tornielli, Editorial Director of Vatican News, highlighted how mercy became the cornerstone of Francis’ twelve-year pontificate. In a tribute published the same day, Tornielli wrote:
“God’s mercy is our liberation and our happiness. We live for mercy, and we cannot afford to be without mercy. It is the air that we breathe. We are too poor to set any conditions. We need to forgive because we need to be forgiven.”
If there’s one message that defines Pope Francis’ legacy and is sure to endure, it’s his unwavering call to mercy.
The Pope died just one day after delivering his final Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday. That appearance, which included a final tour through the gathered crowd, would become a poignant farewell.
As the first Pope from Latin America, Francis—born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina—brought fresh emphasis to the Church’s mission of care for the poor, global solidarity, environmental responsibility, and a strong denunciation of war. But above all, he placed mercy at the very heart of the Church’s message.
He often described mercy as “the air we breathe,” essential and life-giving—a reflection of God’s closeness and compassion toward a world in need of healing.
From the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in March 2013, Francis signaled a new tone for the papacy. Just days later, during his first Angelus prayer, he shared a memory from his time as Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires:
“The Lord forgives all things… If the Lord did not forgive everything, the world would not exist,” an elderly woman once told him in confession.
Rather than altering the doctrines of the Church, Pope Francis placed mercy at the center of Catholic teaching in a deeply personal and pastoral way. He showed the world a Church with a mother’s heart—one that bends down to those in pain and reaches out to the wounded.
Time and again, he modeled Christ’s approach, like Jesus inviting Himself into the home of the tax collector Zacchaeus, expecting nothing, asking no conditions. That encounter, Francis often said, demonstrates how mercy opens hearts and leads to true conversion.
Just as many were scandalized when Jesus entered Zacchaeus’ home, Francis’ open arms toward the marginalized, sinners, and so-called “undesirables” sometimes sparked criticism. But for him, this radical hospitality was the Gospel in action.
In a 2014 homily, he said:
“How many of us perhaps deserve condemnation—and it would be just. But He forgives! How? With mercy that does not erase the sin: it is only God’s forgiveness that erases it. Mercy goes beyond—it is like the light of morning that hides the stars. God forgives not with a decree, but with a caress.”
Throughout his papacy, Francis made that caress known to the world.