Pope Francis, the first pontiff from the Americas and the first to address the United States Congress, died on Easter Monday at age 88.
“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced. “His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.”
The pope died after having respiratory issues, including a bout with pneumonia that had led to an extended hospital stay.
Francis visited briefly with Vice President JD Vance on Sunday as Vance was making an Easter visit to Italy and Vatican City. The Vatican distributed photos from that visit.
“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, who is Catholic, posted on X. “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.”
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis was a Jesuit from Argentina and served as the archbishop of Buenos Aries.
He visited Washington and made an address to Congress in 2015, one of many landmark moments of his tenure as pope. The event drew significant crowds of members of Congress and their staff to the House chamber and the Capitol more broadly.
“If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance,” the pope said in that speech, which ran about 3,400 words. “Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.”
The papal visit was among the highlights of Speaker John A. Boehner’s time in office. Boehner, R-Ohio, who is Catholic, had the opportunity to host Francis in his office, and CQ Roll Call was among the outlets represented.
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