đŸ”” POPE FRANCIS DIES

Author

Citizen Frank
April 21, 2025

Good morning. It’s Monday, April 21.

 

Pope Francis, who became the first South American and first Jesuit to ascend to the most powerful position in the Catholic Church, has died at age 88 — just one day after Easter Sunday.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo — the “chamberlain” who essentially acts as head of the Vatican between the end of a papacy and the start of the next — confirmed the beloved pontiff’s passing on Monday after a prolonged battle with double pneumonia.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Farrell said in the announcement.

The next pontiff could come from Africa, Italy, or Sri Lanka — possibly even America — but it’s likely that whoever is elected to follow Pope Francis, who died Monday at age 88, will nudge the Catholic Church back to the ideological center, experts said.

During Francis’ 12-year reign leading the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the late pope’s support for LGBTQ Catholics and suppression of the traditional Latin Mass were among moves that rankled conservatives in the church.

Now, “whoever is elected will be of a centrally conservative disposition; after 12 years of Pope Francis ‘stirring things up,’” said Serenhedd James, editor of Britain’s Catholic Herald magazine.

Pope Francis’ death will now set in motion the Catholic church’s elaborate and centuries-old procedure for electing a new pontiff.

The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals that come into play in the coming weeks to ensure the transfer of power to the new pope after the old one dies.

From the mourning period to a conclave vote and ballot burning, here is what to expect in replacing the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

JD Vance shared an emotional tribute to Pope Francis following the 88-year-old pontiff’s death — which came hours after the two met on Easter Sunday.

“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,” Vance wrote on X.

“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. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul,” he wrote alongside a link to the sermon.

World Economic Forum founder and former Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has decided to step down from the position of chair and as a member of the board of trustees.

In a statement issued on the official WEF website, Schwab, who has been at the centre of the WEF and its annual Davos summit in Switzerland, said, “Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect.”

Schwab founded the World Economic Forum in 1971.

Two German teenagers planning to explore the US on vacation were thrown in jail and then booted from the country after Customs and Border Protection found their loosely planned trip “suspicious.”

Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepere, 18, arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 18, with plans to travel around the Islands for five weeks before heading to California and then Costa Rica after their high school graduation, according to the German outlet Ostsee Zeitung.

However, the teens made the mistake of not booking their accommodations for the entire duration of their stay in Hawaii, which raised a red flag for US Customs and Border Protection, despite both of them having obtained an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

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