{"id":67100,"date":"2025-04-21T12:16:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=67100"},"modified":"2025-04-21T12:16:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:16:01","slug":"what-did-pope-francis-do-before-death-at-88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/what-did-pope-francis-do-before-death-at-88\/67100\/","title":{"rendered":"What did Pope Francis do before death at 88?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just 20 hours before his passing, Pope Francis took to Twitter to share what would become his final public message\u2014a heartfelt Easter reflection that now feels even more poignant. \u201cChrist is risen! These words capture the entire meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life. #Easter,\u201d he wrote. It was a powerful reminder of hope and faith, made even more meaningful knowing it came shortly before he passed.<\/p>\n

Despite struggling with ongoing health issues, the 88-year-old pontiff made one last public appearance on Easter Sunday. Sitting in a wheelchair in St. Peter\u2019s Square, he briefly greeted the thousands gathered: \u201cDear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!\u201d Though his energy was limited, his spirit was very much present. The rest of his traditional Urbi et Orbi<\/em> Easter message\u2014usually delivered in full from the balcony\u2014was released in written form.<\/p>\n

In that message, Pope Francis spoke with urgency and compassion about the world\u2019s many conflicts. He prayed for peace in war-torn regions like Palestine, Ukraine, Yemen, and also spoke of rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He didn\u2019t stop there\u2014he also mentioned countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar, the latter recently shaken by a devastating earthquake.<\/p>\n

The Pope also made a strong case for basic human freedoms. He called for the protection of religious liberty, free thought, and open expression, saying these are essential for building lasting peace. \u201cThe risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace,\u201d he said in a moving plea for diplomacy and justice.<\/p>\n

One of his final meetings was with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met the Pope on Easter Sunday for a short 15-minute audience. Vance, aware of the Pope\u2019s frail health, told him, \u201cI know you have not been feeling great, but it\u2019s good to see you in better health.\u201d In a touching moment, Pope Francis gifted him a rosary, a Vatican-crest tie, and three Kinder eggs\u2014one for each of Vance\u2019s children.<\/p>\n

After news of the Pope\u2019s passing, Vance posted a tribute: \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Francis passed away peacefully at 7:30 a.m. on Easter Monday. The Vatican has not yet confirmed the exact cause of death, but it came after a difficult five-week battle with double pneumonia. The day before his passing, the Pope had canceled earlier plans to meet with Vice President Vance and chose instead to rest\u2014sending two senior church officials in his place.<\/p>\n

His final words and gestures reflect what he stood for throughout his papacy: hope, compassion, and the belief in a better, more peaceful world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just 20 hours before his passing, Pope Francis took to Twitter to share what would become his final public message\u2014a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":67101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1264],"class_list":["post-67100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","tag-pope-francis"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}