Updated April 21, 2025 at 18:49 PM ET
The death of Pope Francis at age 88 sets off a chain of events as Catholics around the world mourn and the Vatican begins a series of ceremonies and plans to select a new pope.
Francis died early Monday in Rome, just one day after Easter Sunday. The Vatican's Dr. Andrea Arcangeli said the pope's cause of death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible "cardiocirculatory collapse."
His death marks the end of a 12-year papacy that began in 2013 following the historic resignation of Benedict XVI — the first pontiff to step down in nearly six centuries.
The Vatican had said that the pope's body would be placed in a coffin on Monday evening, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell presiding over the rite in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta. It was unclear if that had taken place by late evening Rome time.
A pope's death is followed by nine days of mourning called the novemdiales. Burial must happen within four to five days.
Francis requested to be buried at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, instead of the more typical Saint Peter's Basilica. He asked for a pared down service, with some ceremonies cut, according to his autobiography.
Now Farrell, the Dublin-born cardinal, is the acting head of the Vatican until a new pope is elected. That could take weeks. The conclave to select a new pontiff must begin within 15 to 20 days. But wrangling over the choice often takes several days, although the selection of Francis was over in the second day.
Mourners take stock of Francis' life and contributions
Earlier, outside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, American tourists were among those mourning Francis' death, including Doug Rand and his wife, Ruth Angelettia from Gallatin Gateway, Mont.
Rand described the pope as someone who worked "right up to the last day" for "the little guy and the poor and the disadvantaged and the abused."
Bianca Lott, from Northfield, Minn., is studying abroad in Rome for her spring semester. Given that Francis died on Easter Monday, she said she felt "a strange happiness at the timing," which she called "poetic."
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori recalled the pope's final appearance greeting crowds in St. Peter's Square on Easter, just hours before his death. "It was as if to say farewell to the People of God whom he loved so dearly and served so devotedly," Lori said in a statement. "Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis showed deep compassion for the poor and marginalized, uplifting the voices of migrants, the sick, the elderly, and victims of injustice."
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called Francis "a truly extraordinary leader of the Church — humble, gracious, and deeply prayerful."
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger shared: "My heart is heavy as our world has lost a powerful, prophetic, and loving voice. Yet I rejoice in what I pray is a blessed reward of joy beyond all understanding for a truly great and loving Universal Shepherd."
The Rev. Stephen P. Newton, executive director of the Association of United States Catholic Priests, reflected in an email to NPR: "While we will miss his beautiful, often smiling presence, his example will continue to inspire us to become the church Jesus intended: one that is open and deeply listens to the movement of the Divine Spirit within us, our earth, and the universe."
On its website, Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic organization, offered prayers "to the Lord for the soul of our beloved Pope Francis," adding, "God will have rewarded his generous dedication to the service of the People of God and the whole world."
Francis was the first Latin American pope
Francis, the first-ever Latin American pope, once served as archbishop in Buenos Aires. In the Argentine capital, the government declared seven days of mourning and citizens gathered for a special mass at the city's cathedral, Reuters reports.
The pope also touched the lives of many Latinos around the world by communicating with them in Spanish. Hatciri Lopez, a lifelong Catholic from rural Johnston County, N.C., told NPR member station WUNC that Francis grew her faith.
"It's just easier for the message to get to your heart, instead of hearing it from a translator," she said. "Just as soon as I heard him speak, it would just strike my heart right away. I would just want to cry and just feel a sense of happiness and hope for the future."
In London, Martin Pendergast, secretary of LGBT Catholics Westminster, told The Associated Press that Francis was "the first pope to actually use the word 'gay,' so even the way he speaks has been a radical transformation — and some would say a bit of a revolution as well — compared with some of his predecessors."
In South Korea, political and religious leaders remembered the pope for his compassion toward the victims of conflict and disaster.
On a visit to South Korea in 2014, Francis met with Lee Yong-soo, who was forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese military during World War II.
"He must have gone to a good place," Lee, now 96, said of the pontiff following his death.
In besieged Gaza, where more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in more than 18 months of war with Israel, Christians there were deeply moved by Pope Francis' nightly phone call to them offering comfort amid the frightening conflict. The Rev. Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family Church said the pope's final call came the night before his death, according to Reuters.
"We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong," George Antone, at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, told the news agency.
Francis focused on outreach to the overwhelmingly Muslim Arab world during his papacy, making groundbreaking visits to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2021, Francis was the first pope in history to travel to Iraq, meeting the revered Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani and visiting Ur, the reputed birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, known as the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
In a post on X, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid was also among those to mourn the pope's death, calling him "a remarkable religious and humanitarian leader whose life was devoted to promoting peace, alleviating poverty, and fostering interfaith tolerance."
"His humanitarian stance against war and violence, and his continuous calls for peace and coexistence, will leave an indelible impact on the world," Rashid wrote.
Willem Marx, Anthony Kuhn and Jane Arraf contributed reporting.
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