Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra preside over the sealing of the papal apartment at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Monday, April 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA V... [...]

Religious sisters gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Monday, April 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA Vatican City, Apr 21, 2025 / 16:38 pm (CNA). The Vatican on Monday evening hosted a praying o... [...]

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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, April 21, 2025. President Trump signed a proclamation at the event ordering flags to be flown at half-staff “as a mark of respect for the memor... [...]

Pope Francis arrives at his general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA CNA Staff, Apr 21, 2025 / 15:38 pm (CNA). Bishops and cardinals around the United States joined in prayer and mourning following t... [...]

CNA Newsroom, Apr 21, 2025 / 15:08 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has released the testament of Pope Francis. The 88-year-old pontiff died on Easter Monday morning, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. He led the Catholic Church for just over 12 years. 

Here is the full text of Pope Francis’ testament:

Miserando atque Eligendo (“With having mercy and choosing him”)

In the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial.

Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest — awaiting the day of the Resurrection — in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.

I ask that my tomb be prepared in the burial niche in the side aisle between the Pauline Chapel (Chapel of the Salus Populi Romani) and the Sforza Chapel of the Basilica, as shown in the attached plan.

The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.

The cost of preparing the burial will be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor, which I have arranged to be transferred to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I have given the necessary instructions regarding this to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Liberian Basilica.

May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.

Santa Marta, 29 June 2022
FRANCIS

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With the death of Pope Francis on Monday, April 21, media attention is shifting to the process of selecting his successor. The title “camerlengo” inevitably appears, sometimes without much explanation. Who and what is the camerlengo? The camerlengo is a cardinal specially appointed by the pope to preside over the Apostolic Chamber and assist in Read More…

What is a camerlengo and what does he do when a pope dies? An Irish-American currently has the role

Vatican City, Apr 21, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).

The Holy See on Monday evening released the death certificate detailing the cause of death of Pope Francis, who died in his Vatican apartment at 7:35 a.m. in Rome on April 21, the day after Easter.

After an examination, Vatican physician Dr. Andrea Arcangeli determined the pope died from a stroke, coma, and irreversible cardiovascular collapse, according to the death certificate published just over 12 hours after Francis’ death.

According to the certificate, compounding factors included Francis’ previous episode of acute respiratory failure from bilateral pneumonia, the chronic disease called bronchiectasis (the permanent enlargement of parts of airways of the lungs), hypertension, and type II diabetes.

Arcangeli, the director of the Vatican’s health and hygiene service, said the cause of death was determined through an EKG.

The Vatican physician is also responsible for ensuring the pontiff’s remains are appropriately preserved so that public exposition of the corpse can be carried out “with the greatest decorum and respect.” 

On the evening of April 21, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, presided over the “rite of the ascertainment of death and deposition in the coffin” in the chapel of Pope Francis’ Vatican residence, the Casa Santa Marta, in which special prayers are said for the pope and his body is dressed in vestments and placed in a coffin.

The College of Cardinals will begin meetings, called general congregations, on April 22 to plan the papal funeral and to make decisions related to the governance of the Church and the running of the Vatican during the sede vacante, or period without a pope.

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During the Church’s liturgical year, the Easter season is the time when the Church looks forward in hope to the promise of eternal life and the final resurrection of the dead. It is a time when we recall the reality that death has been defeated and Jesus’ victory endures for all eternity. This is a Read More…

The beautiful symbolism of dying during the Easter season

On April 21, 2025, at 7:35 a.m., Pope Francis died in Rome at the age of 88. That evening, the Vatican’s press office released both the official medical certificate and the late pontiff’s personal testament — two documents that together tell a story of suffering, simplicity, and steadfast faith. The medical report, signed by the Read More…

Stroke claimed Pope Francis; Testament released