{"id":87398,"date":"2025-04-21T04:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T09:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=87398"},"modified":"2025-04-21T04:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T09:25:06","slug":"pope-francis-dies-at-88-in-vatican-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/pope-francis-dies-at-88-in-vatican-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis dies at 88 in Vatican City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JNS STAFF<\/p>\n<p>(<em>JNS.org<\/em>) \u2013&nbsp;Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning at the Vatican at the age of 88.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87399\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87399\" class=\"wp-image-87399 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-300x205.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-1024x701.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025.png 1308w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/205;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87399\" class=\"wp-image-87399 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-300x205.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-1024x701.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025-768x526.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancisB042025.png 1308w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87399\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pope Francis I speaks on Easter Sunday to the crowds in St. Peter&#8217;s Square in Vatican City on April 20, 2025. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>He passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time, according to the Vatican.<\/p>\n<p>Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas when elected in 2013. His papacy was marked by reform efforts, calls for social justice and outreach to marginalized communities. He also faced mounting criticism over the Church\u2019s response to clerical abuse scandals.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/pope-calls-antisemitism-worrisome-situation-in-gaza-deplorable\/\">Pope Francis<\/a>&nbsp;made several controversial statements about the Israel-Hamas conflict. He condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack but later called for a ceasefire and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/pope-doubles-down-on-criticism-of-israel\/\">criticized<\/a>&nbsp;Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza. Jewish groups, including Israeli officials and U.S. Jewish organizations, sharply criticized the pope for what they described as moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Despite ongoing health issues, including a February hospitalization for pneumonia, Francis appeared publicly at Easter Mass on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his condolences on Monday, calling Pope Francis \u201ca man of deep faith and boundless compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media-oembed-video\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" title=\"X Post\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1914230091749400703&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fpope-francis-dies-at-88-in-vatican-city%2F&amp;sessionId=dcef0ca64c7963ab4abb0e96958de689cf97103b&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1914230091749400703\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_87400\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87400\" class=\"wp-image-87400 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-300x196.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-768x502.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025.png 839w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/196;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87400\" class=\"wp-image-87400 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-300x196.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025-768x502.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/PopeFrancis042025.png 839w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-87400\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pope Francis I seen on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. Less than a day later he died. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI send my deepest condolences to the Christian world and especially the Christian communities in Israel\u2014the Holy Land\u2014on the loss of their great spiritual father, His Holiness Pope Francis,\u201d Herzog said. \u201cHe dedicated his life to uplifting the poor and calling for peace in a troubled world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Herzog praised Francis for \u201cfostering strong ties with the Jewish world and advancing interfaith dialogue,\u201d and added: \u201cI truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMay his memory continue to inspire acts of kindness, unity, and hope,\u201d said Herzog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Preparations for the papal conclave to elect his successor will begin following the customary period of mourning.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Pope%20Francis%20dies%20at%2088%20in%20Vatican%20City\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,14595,1877],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87401,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87398\/revisions\/87401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}