I just woke up to find out that the Vatican is confirming that Pope Frances has died at the age of 88. He just met with Vice President JD Vance and his family over the weekend and now he’s gone:

ABC NEWS – Pope Francis, whose time as head of the Catholic Church was noted for humility and outreach efforts to people of disparate backgrounds and faiths, has died at 88, the Vatican has confirmed.

Francis’ death on Monday comes after a series of worsening health problems, including a respiratory crisis that left him in critical condition in recent months. The Argentinian national was known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was elected the Catholic Church’s 266th supreme pontiff — and the first ever from Latin America — on March 13, 2013, replacing the retiring Pope Benedict XVI.

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell said on Monday.

Pope Francis was hospitalized for just over five weeks beginning in February 2025 to address what the Vatican initially said was a respiratory tract infection, for which he began receiving treatment. Four days after his hospitalization, the Vatican revealed that Francis had been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

I honestly thought Francis was recovering and totally wasn’t expecting this news.

May Pope Francis rest in the great peace of God for eternity. To those Catholics, please pray for the soul of Francis that he may soon see the beatific vision.

And pray for the choosing of the next pope.