With significant assistance from his staff, Pope Francis made his final sincere act of devotion by wishing everyone a “Happy Easter.”

Francis, who died today at the age of 88, delighted the 35,000 worshippers at the Vatican on Easter Sunday by appearing on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

However, the pontiff, who appeared worn out and exhausted, needed help from his aides as he sat on the balcony and heard a senior cardinal read out the Easter blessing.

Aides were seen setting up Francis’ papal vestments and helping him drink water through a straw during the blessing.

In the piazza yesterday, he was replaced by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retiring archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, who celebrated Easter Mass.

Pope Francis, who was released from hospital after 38 days of treatment for double pneumonia, celebrated the highest Catholic holiday on social media just 20 hours before the Vatican announced his death.

He celebrated the Easter holiday by tweeting “Christ is risen!” and sharing his full Urbi et Orbi blessing. Francis’ final Easter sermon called for an end to conflicts and urged political responsibility to use “weapons of peace.”

He criticized the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day,” violence directed at women and children, and contempt towards the vulnerable, marginalized, and migrants.

Francis spent his last hours with the faithful, traversing the piazza in the Popemobile to tremendous cheers and ovation and coming out to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.

The Vatican camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, declared his death at 7.35 a.m. local time (5.35 a.m. GMT) today. Francis will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighborhood of Rome after his body is placed in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for an official period of mourning.

His passing initiates centuries-old customs that would eventually lead to a conclave of cardinals convening in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to select a successor.

Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, and his death has been met with condolences by Israel’s President Emmanuel Macron and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Pope’s death has led to a remembrance of him at Notre-Dame cathedral, where the bells rang out 88 times in his honor.

Pope Francis was the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church, succeeding Benedict XVI, who was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages. He aimed to create a more accepting and caring church, addressed issues like clergy sex abuse of children, and championed social justice, migrant rights, and the environment.

Francis faced criticism for causing doctrinal confusion and failing to defend traditional Catholic doctrine on crucial issues like divorce and abortion. He chose to be buried in Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, making him the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century. He chose to be buried in a single coffin made of zinc and wood, rather than the customary three that popes have.

Francis’s health was considered more precarious due to pleurisy, which required the removal of a portion of one lung at the age of 21. Despite his illness, Francis pledged to abolish impunity and amended Vatican legislation to combat abuse. He started a significant overhaul of the Vatican’s influential leadership, including enhancing fiscal accountability and enabling lay Catholics to hold office.

At the beginning of his pontificate, he remarked, “If someone is gay and is seeking the Lord and has good intentions, then who am I to judge him?”

However, in his last months, senior cardinals became more outspoken in their criticism of him for not following established Church doctrine.

Tensions with conservative Catholics plagued the Synod conference, which was held at the Vatican at the end of 2023 as part of a multi-year global consultation on the future of the church. Francis now ends the consultation without finishing it.

UPDATE: Pope Francis passed away due to irreversible heart failure and a stroke, according to Vatican physician Andrea Arcangeli.

The Vatican released the death certificate, which attested to the fact that he had gone into a coma and died early that morning.

The pope had made a heartfelt final request: he wanted to be buried at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, which he frequently visited while serving as pope.

The world laments the passing of a spiritual leader whose last moments were characterized by honor, modesty, and compassion for all people. Millions of people will carry his memory with them forever.