Pope Francis expressed his belief that death is simply a “new beginning” just two months before his passing.
The 88-year-old died on Monday, April 21 after months of speculation relating to his ill-health. According to reports, he ultimately succumbed to a cerebral stroke, which led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel on Monday. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis held several important titles within the church before eventually ascending to its highest seat in 2013, becoming the 226th pope.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis had battled a serious case of pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for 38 days.
Though he returned to the Vatican nearly a month ago and appeared to be on the mend, the Pope continued to push himself. Known for his tireless dedication, Francis ignored doctors’ recommendations to rest for two months and instead spent his final day working.
Francis rode through St. Peter’s Square at the weekend, delivering his traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter Sunday. As per reports, he thanked his longtime nurse and personal healthcare assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, for bringing him back to the Square, where he smiled, waved, and embraced children.
Later that day, he rested, had a quiet dinner, and went to sleep. At dawn, he fell suddenly ill. He made a final gesture of farewell to Mr. Strappetti before slipping into a coma. By sunrise, he was gone.
Preparations for the pope’s burial are well underway, with it claimed that he decided not to be buried in the Vatican – as so many of his predecessors are – as well as requested that no inscriptions on his tomb mention his role as Pope.
Indeed, Pope Francis had time to give a deal of thought as to his own mortality. Having risen to his final office as an older man, he was troubled by health issues for the majority of his time as the Vatican’s sovereign.
And yet Francis, it seems, did not fear his impending passing, having recently written to express his belief that death does not signify the end, but rather marks the beginning of a new journey.
In a preface written on February 7 for a new book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, Francis penned: “Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning, as the title wisely highlights, because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life — is beginning something that will never end.
“And it is precisely for this reason that it is a “new” beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity.“
Rest in peace, Pope Francis.
