A Shepherd to the End: The Gentle Passing of Pope Francis

By Kibet Mutai

Vatican City – In the quiet of a Tuesday morning, the world lost a spiritual father, a humble servant, and a tireless voice for the forgotten. At 7:35 a.m. on April 21, 2025, Pope Francis passed away peacefully at his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta. He was 88.

The announcement came just over two hours later, when Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, stood before a solemn press gathering and shared the bittersweet news with the world.

"Dearest brothers and sisters," he began, his voice thick with emotion, "with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis... We commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis became the first pontiff from the Americas, and the first Jesuit to lead the Roman Catholic Church. His papacy was marked not by grandeur, but by gestures of compassion: embracing the disabled, washing the feet of prisoners, and choosing a modest guesthouse over the papal palace.

Health challenges had shadowed much of his later years. After a childhood surgery removed part of one lung, respiratory illnesses became a frequent burden. In mid-February of this year, the Pope was hospitalized with bronchitis that developed into bilateral pneumonia. He spent 38 days in Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic before returning home to continue his recovery—quietly, prayerfully, surrounded by those closest to him.

Even in declining health, Pope Francis remained active in shaping the Church’s future. Just a year before his passing, he personally approved a revised edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis—the book guiding papal funerals. In it, he asked for a simpler, humbler farewell—one that reflects the journey of a shepherd, not the spectacle of a sovereign.

Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the Vatican’s Master of Apostolic Ceremonies, said it best: “The renewed rite seeks to emphasize even more that the funeral of the Roman Pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ—not of a powerful person of this world.”

The funeral arrangements have yet to be formally announced, but one thing is certain: the world will gather in grief, in gratitude, and in love for a Pope who walked with the poor, spoke for the voiceless, and reminded us all what it means to live the Gospel with joy.