Overview

The Death of Pope Francis refers to discussions about the life and legacy of Pope Francis, who acted as the head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025, and died on April 21st, Easter Monday, after a battle with a respiratory illness. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis was the first Pope born or raised outside of Europe since the 8th century, and the first Pope from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere. Pope Francis was known for his progressive opinions on women's roles in the Church, LGBTQ+ rights, interreligious dialogue, climate change and migrant rights. Memes and jokes about the Pope's meeting with American Vice President J.D. Vance affecting his health also began making the rounds online soon after his death in late April 2025.

Background

​Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, passed away on April 21st, 2025, at age 88 in his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta. According to the New York Times,^[1] his death followed a prolonged hospitalization for double pneumonia and respiratory complications. Despite being discharged in late March, his health remained fragile.

On Easter Sunday, April 20th, he made a final public appearance, delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing from St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican announced his death the next morning at 7:35 a.m. CEST.

The Associated Press posted a video of the Pope's last public appearance on Easter Sunday to YouTube that day.^[2]

Redditor /u/randy88moss shared the news of Pope Francis's death to the subreddit /r/news^[7] on April 21st, 2025. Twitter / X^[3] account @VaticanNews also shared the news of Pope Francis' passing on April 21st, gathering over 200,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

On April 21st, 2025, X^[4] user @_sn_n posted about American Vice President J.D. Vance meeting the Pope on April 20th, joking that the Pope may have "died from cringe." The post gathered over 86,000 likes in a few hours.

That same day, TikToker^[5] @annrussell03, famous for making videos about cleaning, posted a video showing herself finding out about Pope Francis's death in the middle of answering a follower's question. The video gathered over 250,000 views and 20,000 likes in four hours.

Later on April 21st, 2025, X^[6] user @HELEBING_ tweeted a photo of actor Ralph Fiennes from Conclave, writing, "my mother literally woke me up to tell me the pope was dead who do you think I am the dean of the college of cardinals?" The post gathered over 16,000 likes in a day.

Also on April 21st, Redditor /u/BraidShadowLegendsAD posted a meme about Pope Francis dying on Easter Monday to the subreddit /r/dankmemes,^[8] gathering over 200 upvotes in a day.

Related Memes

The Pope Passed A Peaceful Night

The Pope Passed A Peaceful Night refers to memes and jokes inspired by a poorly phrased tweet reporting on Pope Francis's health conditions by various news outlets in February 2025. Pope Francis was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs that month, after which the Vatican put out a statement that said, "Pope Francis […] passed a peaceful night." Many news outlets borrowed the Vatican's phrasing, leading to numerous internet users misreading the headlines to mean that Pope Francis had passed away. This led to memes and jokes about the oddly phrased tweet, with many internet users making their own versions as memes.

Search Interest

External References