DILI, 21 April 2025 (TATOLI) – Pope Francis, who visited Timor-Leste from 9 to 11 September 2024, has died at the age of 88, the Vatican announced.
The first Latin American pontiff died at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta at 7:35am local time.
“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,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta.
Cardinal Farrell said that Pope Francis taught the catholic followers and the faithful to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized: “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.”
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists following the death of the Holy Father that: “The translation of the body of the Holy Father to the Vatican Basilica, to allow all the faithful to pay their respects, may take place in the morning of Wednesday 23 April 2025.”
The Pope was admitted to Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital after being diagnosed with bronchitis on February 14.
On February 18, the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Francis was diagnosed with pneumonia in both his lungs.
Five weeks after he was admitted for bronchitis and later developed double pneumonia, the late Pope was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23 and returned to his residence at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta to continue his recovery.
In 1957, in his early 20s, Jorge Mario Bergoglio underwent surgery in his native Argentina to remove a portion of his lung that had been affected by a severe respiratory infection, according to the Vatican.
Pope Francis visited Timor-Leste in September 2024, becoming the first pope to visit the country since John Paul II in 1989.
The visit was a significant moment for the country, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
The peak of Pope Francis’s historic visit to Timor-Leste was the celebration of Holy Mass in Tasi Tolu, attended by an estimated 600,000 faithful—almost half of the Timorese population.
He was born in Buenos Aires on 17 December 1936, the son of Italian immigrants. On 11 March 1958 he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. On 13 December 1969 he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. On 20 May 1992 Pope John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop of Auca and Auxiliary of Buenos Aires. On 21 February 2001, John Paul II created him Cardinal, assigning him the title of San Roberto Bellarmino. He was elected Supreme Pontiff on 13 March 2013.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
