Pope Francis died Monday at the age of 88. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, made the official announcement at 9:45 a.m., saying, “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.” He will be the first pope in over 120 years to be buried outside of the Vatican at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian immigrant parents, Francis went on to become the first pope from the Americas. He was beloved by many for his emphasis on caring for the poor and marginalized of society, including immigrants and refugees. In addition to being the first Latin American pope, his career included a slew of other “firsts.”
Francis was the first Jesuit pope, the first to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments, and the first to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He also broke precedent and washed the feet of women, Muslims, and non-Christians during Holy Thursday Mass in 2013. He was the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula in 2019 and to appoint women to senior Vatican positions.
Even more surprising to some were the pope’s words from 2013: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?” And while not allowing priests to perform gay weddings, he permitted them to bless the couples already in gay marriages in 2023. Francis’ willingness to take a more progressive stance on issues such as LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage, and immigration makes him one of the most progressive and influential popes of the modern era.
Notably, Pope Francis issued the papal encyclical “Laudato Si’” with the subtitle, “On Care for Our Common Home” on May 24, 2015. This official letter to the Church and world was the first in Church history devoted entirely to the environment, ecology, and the moral dimensions of climate change.
All this makes one wonder, “Will the next pope continue Francis’ progressive trajectory or steer the Catholic Church in a more conservative direction?”
Events Set in Motion
So what happens when a pope dies? The Camerlengo (Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church) confirms his death and then removes and destroys the pontiff’s papal signet ring. Within a day or two, the body is made available for public viewing at St. Peter’s Basilica, where it stays for three to five days.
In total, nine days of official mourning, called the Novemdiales, follow the pope’s death. The funeral usually occurs within six days of his death. Until a new pope is elected, only basic functions of the Church continue under the Camerlengo and the College of Cardinals.
Fifteen to twenty days after the pope’s death, voting begins for a new pope. This event is called a “conclave,” literally meaning “with a key,” because the voters are sequestered in Vatican City, within the Sistine Chapel, until a new pope is chosen.
Of the 135 cardinals eligible to vote, 108 were appointed by Pope Francis. Does this increase the likelihood of another progressive pope being chosen? Not necessarily. BBC reports, “With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, they are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective. For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European. And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not exclusively “progressive” or “traditionalist”. For those reasons, it is harder than ever to predict who will be elected the next Pope.”
A Couple of Prophetic Insights
While Pope Francis had many “firsts” for a pope, he was not the first to be called “Holy Father” or hold official titles such as “Vicar of Christ” and “Supreme Pontiff.” Jesus said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).
Jesus also told us that His vicar, or representative on earth, is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13–15), not a man assuming blasphemous titles and claiming to rule over a universal church. The apostle Paul warned, “the man of sin … opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The prophet Daniel predicted that the same organization would attempt to tamper with God’s law (Daniel 7:25). It’s a fact of history that the Catholic Church claims to have transferred the holiness of God’s Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. And Pope Francis promoted Sunday as a universal day of rest for the sake of the environment in “Laudato Si’.” But is there more to the promotion of Sunday rest than meets the eye?
The Catholic Church endorsed Sunday as its day of rest at the Council of Laodicea in AD 364 and forbade Christians from honoring the seventh-day Sabbath. It continues to endorse Sunday today. And take note of what one Catholic publication had to say about Sunday:
“Sunday is our mark of authority. … The church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” (Catholic Record, Sept. 1, 1923).
Find out what the Bible reveals the Roman Catholic Church will do in the near future by watching Pastor Doug’s sermon, “Satan’s Mark and God’s Seal.”
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Special Live Presentation with Pastor Doug!
In light of Pope Francis’s passing, many are asking, “Are prophetic signs being fulfilled? And what happens next?” Join Pastor Doug Batchelor on Friday, April 25, 7:00 PM ET, as he explores Bible prophecy and what Revelation 13 reveals!