Pope Francis has died aged 88. At 7.35 a.m., the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had ‘returned to the house of the Father’ at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. Cardinal Farrell, who announced the death, added that Francis ‘taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised’.
Tributes are already pouring in from political and religious leaders around the world. These are the messages that have been sent so far:
J.D. Vance, the US Vice-president
Vance, the last statesman to meet Francis, having been granted a brief audience with the pontiff yesterday morning, wrote:
I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.
I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of Covid.
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