The Final Hours of Pope Francis: Meeting with Vance Before 'Urbi et Orbi' Blessing to 35,000

Less than 24 hours have passed since Pope Francis received the US Vice President, JD Vance, on Easter Sunday. The meeting took place at 11:30. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who passed away this Monday, met with Donald Trump's right-hand man in a private encounter lasting a few minutes at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where the Pontiff lived. They exchanged Easter greetings. Meanwhile, in St. Peter's Square, the Easter Sunday Mass was being celebrated, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the Pope's delegate, as the Pontiff could not officiate the Holy Week liturgies due to health issues. The image with the American leader did not foreshadow Monday's tragic outcome.

About 35,000 people attended the Easter Sunday ceremony in St. Peter's Square, waiting for Francis, aged 88, to appear in a wheelchair on the central balcony of the Vatican basilica for the traditional 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing, which grants plenary indulgence to those who hear it. "Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!" said Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who, due to respiratory problems, asked Monsignor Diego Ravelli to read his Easter message, outlining the major crises facing the world today. He then imparted his 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing with some difficulty in his voice, although he no longer used nasal cannulas for breathing assistance as seen in recent weeks.

For Francis, this Easter Sunday, the most important liturgical feast of the year for Catholics, was likely the most challenging of his 12-year pontificate and a farewell to the faithful who have followed him throughout this time. The Argentine Pontiff was still recovering from 38 days in Rome's Gemelli Hospital due to bronchitis that developed into bilateral pneumonia. Upon discharge four weeks ago, doctors warned he would need "at least two months" of rest. There was uncertainty about his recovery, and the concern was evident on the faces of some priests in St. Peter's Square as they heard Francis's voice difficulties during the blessing. This Monday, the tragic end occurred.

In his Easter message, read by Monsignor Ravelli, Bergoglio first warned that "evil has not disappeared from our history" and remembered those suffering "pain and anguish," inviting hope that "peace is possible." He applauded that this year Easter is celebrated on the same day for Catholics and Orthodox and expressed closeness to the suffering of Christians in Palestine and Israel, as well as all Israeli and Palestinian people. He then noted the "worrying rise of antisemitism spreading worldwide" and remembered Gaza, where the "terrible conflict continues to bring death and destruction, causing a dramatic and unworthy humanitarian crisis."

After making a renewed appeal for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, he asked for prayers for Lebanon and Syria, denounced the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, and mentioned Yemen, the "martyred" Ukraine, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other conflict areas. Francis also included in his Easter message a call to politicians not to be swayed by "the logic of fear that isolates," instead urging them to use resources "to help those in need, combat hunger, and promote initiatives that drive development." These are, in his view, "the 'weapons' of peace that build the future instead of sowing death."