By Courtney MARES
Vatican City, April 22, 2025/10:12 am
The last public act of Pope Francis was a blessing from all over Easter Sunday, delivered from the loggia of the Saint -Pierre basilica – the same place where it was presented as Pope 12 years ago.
Following his death, the Vatican published more details on the Pope’s last hours on Tuesday.
“Grazie” or “thank you”, was one of the last words of the Pope, according to the state media of the Vatican. He addressed them to Massimiliano Strappetti, the Vatican nurse who was her personal health assistant since 2022.
“Thank you for bringing me back to the place,” said Francis to Strappetti, who had encouraged him to greet the crowd of the Popemobile on Easter Sunday after the traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi”.
He marked the first time that Francis had used the Popemobile since a hospitalization of 39 days earlier this year for pneumonia. The more than 15 minutes he spent on agitating the 50,000 people gathered in the square ended up being his last journey.
His last public words were simple: “Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter.”
The 88-year-old Pope spent the rest of the Easter afternoon resting and had a peaceful dinner, according to the Vatican.
At 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 21, the health of the Pope suddenly turned, causing immediate medical care. A little more than an hour later, still in bed in his apartment on the second floor in Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis made a farewell gesture with his hand in Strapetti before entering the coma.
He died at 7:35 a.m. in his Vatican apartment. According to his death certificate, the cause of death was a stroke that led to a coma and an irreversible cardiovascular collapse.
“He did not suffer. Everything happened quickly,” the Vatican News reported on Tuesday, quoting those who were present in his last moments.
In the hours that followed his death, many Catholics thought about the words of his last blessings Urbi and Easter Orbi, which had been read aloud in the name of the Loggia on Easter Sunday.
“The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. Because in the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ – Crucified and resurrected from the dead – Hope is not disappointed!
“Christ is risen!” These words capture all the meaning of our existence, because we were not made for death but for life. Easter is the celebration of life! God has created us for life and wants the human family to withdraw! In his eyes, each life is precious! The life of a child in the mother’s belly, as well as the life of the elderly and the patients, who have more and more countries are considered people to be distestable. ” He wrote.
“In the Lord’s Pascal Mystery, death and life supported themselves in a formidable struggle, but the Lord now lives forever (Cf. Easter sequence). He fills us with the certainty that we are also called to share in life that knows no end, when everyone can do everything that can do all that can do all that (cf.
Courtney Mares is a Rome correspondent for the Catholic press agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she reported on News on three continents and received the Gardner Stock Exchange for her work with North Korean refugees. She is the author of “Brussed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers” (Ignatius, 2023), https://ignatius.com/carlo-cutis-scap/.
