The death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, Easter Monday, in the middle of Easter eighth, came accompanied by symbolisms that reflect a life deeply linked to the Lord.
Here we count some of the “God” that make Francisco’s death a spiritual message in itself.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
1. Pope Francis died on “Angel Monday”
This day is known because it was an angel who announced to the holy women that Christ had risen. Pope Francis was especially devoted to the guardian angel. In one of his teachings, he said: “We go to them frequently in prayer, so that they help us in all situations of our life and help us keep our eyes on Jesus, our only salvation.”
2. Pope Francis died in Easter eighth
The Easter eighth is a whole week dedicated to celebrating the resurrection of Christ, days in which the Easter joy extends. It is the happiest week of the Church, in which we celebrate the triumph of life over death.
Pope Francis not only preached faith; He lived until the last second of his life: “Brothers and sisters, this is the call that, especially in the jubilee year, we must feel strongly within us: let’s germinate the hope of Easter in our life and in the world!”
3. The last time we saw Pope Francis in public was Easter Sunday
His last gesture of love towards the Church was the Urbi et Orbi blessing, although there was already some difficulty in his gestures and words.
In the homily of the Mass of the Sunday of Resurrection, he said: “Brothers and sisters, this is the greatest hope of our life: we can live this poor, fragile and wound existence, clinging to Christ, because He has defeated death, overcome our darkness and will overcome the darkness of the world, to make us live with him in joy, forever.”
4. The body of Pope Francis will be revered by the faithful from the day of San Jorge
The Church celebrates on April 23 the feast of San Jorge, onomastics of Pope Francis, baptized as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires. The Argentine Pope mentioned on numerous occasions his patron saint and the fight against the evil, recurring theme in his preaching.
That same April 23, Pope Francis’s body was transferred from the Santa Marta house to the Basilica of San Pedro, where thousands of faithful were able to say goodbye to him and pay tribute.
5. Pope Francis will be buried on the eve of the Fiesta de la Divina Misericordia
From its motto “MISERING ATQUE choosing ”(he looked at him with mercy and chose him)Mercy has been in the center of Pontificate of Pope Francis. On December 8, 2015, he proclaimed the Jubilee Year of Mercy, and on multiple occasions he highlighted his importance to the Christian life: “The mercy of God is our liberation and our happiness. We live from mercy and we cannot afford to live without it: it is the air we breathe. We are too poor to put conditions. We need to forgive, because we need to be forgiven.”
Pope Francis will be buried on the eve of the Fiesta de la Divina Misericordia, a deeply symbolic coincidence for those who made mercy the heart of his mission.
6. Francisco died a day before the day of Santa María Virgen, mother of the Society of Jesus
Francisco, the first Jesuit Pope in history, died a day before the feast of Santa María Virgen, mother of the Society of Jesus, April 22. This date is especially significant for the Jesuits, because it commemorates the solemn votes that the first companions of San Ignacio de Loyola pronounced in 1541 before an image of the Virgin, in the Basilica of San Pablo Extramuros, in Rome.
Since then, Jesus’ company has recognized Mary as the mother of her mission, and this devotion has accompanied generations of Jesuits, including Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
In his spiritual testament, Pope Francis expressed his desire to rest with her: “I have always trusted my life and my priestly and episcopal ministry to the mother of our Lord, Mary Most Holy. Therefore, I ask that my mortal remains rest waiting for the day of the resurrection in the papal basilic of Santa María la Mayor.”
“I want my last earthly trip to end precisely in this former Marian sanctuary, where I went to pray at the beginning and the end of each apostolic trip, to confidence with confidence my intentions to the immaculate mother and thank her for her docile and maternal care,” he added.
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.