Pope Francis dies at 88 - What is next for the global Catholic Church?

From the Daily Signal at the links here and here are the following in Parts I and II, with more facts, observations, and commentary plus other topics in Part III.

Part I

News
Pope Francis Dies at 88

Tyler O'Neil | April 21, 2025

Former President Joe Biden, a Catholic, praised Francis as “the People’s Pope – a light of faith, hope, and love.” in a lengthy statement posted to X.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts shared how the pontiff taught the faithful to live with “mercy and joy.”

With reverence, The Heritage Foundation mourns the death of Pope Francis. He was a simple man who reminded the Catholic Church to live with mercy and joy, and we remember his pontificate with gratitude and prayer.Pope Francis’ death coincides with a season called Eastertide, in which Catholics recall that our Resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, walked with his disciples. Let us unite in prayer that Pope Francis may also walk with the Resurrected Jesus Christ today.Eternal rest grant unto Pope Francis, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama also released a statement after news broke of the pope’s passing. “Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people,” the Obamas’ statement read. “In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound — embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners — he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another.”

“Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world — Catholic and non-Catholic alike — who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example. May we continue to heed his call to ‘never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope,'” the Obamas concluded.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that “Pope Francis will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society.”

“He renewed for us the mission to bring the Gospel out to the ends of the earth and offer divine mercy to all. He has also taken advantage of the present Jubilee to call us to a profound hope: one that is not an empty or naïve hope, but one grounded in the promise of Almighty God to be with us always,” added Broglio, referring to the Catholic Catholic currently celebrating a Jubilee year with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Bishop Robert Barron, who heads the the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota and is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, urged “everyone to pray for the repose of [Pope Francis’] soul,” a traditional Catholic practice for the dead.

“He was a man of simplicity, compassion, and deep concern for those on the margins of our society. Let us thank God for the life and ministry of Pope Francis and let us pray for the Cardinals who will soon gather to choose his successor,” added Barron.

Pope Francis’ passing begins the process of the College of Cardinals selecting a new pope. The process may take a long or short time, depending on the cardinals’ decision.

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Part II

Analysis
After Death of Pope Francis, What Lies Ahead for Catholic Church?

Bradley Devlin | April 21, 2025

With the passing of Pope Francis early Easter Monday morning, the Catholic Church enters a period of mourning while the College of Cardinals, guided by the Holy Spirit, prepares to choose the next Bishop of Rome.

First, however, the Church will bury and mourn their holy father. When Francis reviewed his funeral rites in 2024, he opted for a public viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica with more simple elements than previous popes.

Rather than have his body elevated on a pedestal, for example, the pope’s body will remain on the ground during the viewing period. The College of Cardinals will decide exactly when the visitation will begin, which will kick off with a large procession into the basilica.

In a similar way, Francis has chosen to be buried in a single coffin made of wood and zinc, rather than the usual three nested coffins of elm (or oak), zinc, and cypress respectively. After public viewing, the coffin will be closed the night before the funeral with a reading of Francis’ “rogito,” or “deed,” which details the deceased pope’s life and papacy and will be buried with the pope.

The funeral is expected to take place within 4 to 6 days. The College of Cardinals, led by its dean, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, will preside over the funeral. Francis will be laid to rest not in St. Peter’s Basilica but in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of his favorite places for prayer.

The funeral will begin the “Novendiale,” a period of nine days of mourning for the deceased pope during which special requiem Masses will be said for the repose of Francis’ soul.

In about two weeks’ time, Re will summon the College of Cardinals for a conclave where a new pope will be chosen.

The conclave will gather in the Sistine Chapel where they will discuss and vote by secret ballot. Only cardinals under 80 are eligible to vote, and a two-thirds majority is required to elect the next pope.

The cardinals will remain in the isolation of conclave until someone carries two-thirds of the voting members.

After each round of voting, the ballots are burned with an additive that turns the smoke black or white—black meaning the conclave remains undecided, white meaning a new pope has been chosen.
The white smoke puts an end to the interregnum or sede vacante (“the seat being vacant”) period.

Who the conclave produces as the next pope is anyone’s guess. Some cardinals, by virtue of their station and works, have been identified as papabili, which means “pope-worthy,” as Francis’ health declined.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin has served as the Vatican secretariat of state since the pope tapped him for the post in 2013. The 70-year-old Italian has spent more than four decades in ambassadorial roles for the Catholic Church.

Some have put another Italian, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on the shortlist. The 59-year-old prelate has served in Jerusalem for over 30 years and was made a cardinal just prior to the Hamas-Israel war breaking out in 2023. Throughout the war, Pizzaballa has offered himself in exchange of hostages and documented and condemned attacks on ancient Christian communities over the tenure of the war.

Cardinal Peter Erdo, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary since 2003, has also been floated as Pope Francis’ replacement. When Pope John Paul II made Erdo a cardinal in 2003, the Budapest-born priest was the youngest member of the College of Cardinals until the appointment of Reinhard Marx in 2010. Today, Erdo is 72 years old.

If Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle emerges from conclave as Francis’ successor, Tagle would be a pope of many firsts. Tagle, the head of the Vatican’s evangelization office and former Archbishop of Manila, would be the first Asian pope and first pope fully fluent in English. It’s not an outside chance, either, as many Vatican observers believe Tagle is the frontrunner.

In the coming weeks, western observers will be tempted to shoehorn the election of a new pope into pre-existing right-left political dynamics. While tension does exist between elements of the church considered ‘right’ and ‘left,’ the debate will likely be animated by how the Church responds to post-modernity. The College of Cardinals must decide whether or not to continue the Pope Francis model of high activity and engagement, which sometimes leads to a sense of volatility, or a movement towards a re-emphasis of the fundamentals of the faith and its tradition.

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Part III - Additional Thoughts plus other topics.

The Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State releases the cause of death for Pope Francis: a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.https://t.co/OD5ApLFLlG

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/VaticanNew... 21, 2025

1) Books have and will be written about Pope Francis. Pardon me, but from this writer's perspective, he was not the strongest or best pope of the 21st century. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were far clearer and more consistent in their teaching capacity, in official or more casual discussions. Church history tells us that there have been great popes while some others who were weaker.

But think about the twelve (12) that Jesus picked as his Apostles. None were perfect, all had their flaws, and one betrayed Jesus. A great pope inspires just as a great Apostle did. A weak pope is like a cautionary tale for other believers.

While some have argued that Pope Francis never taught something contrary to the faith in official pronouncements, in an era of problematic communications, that concern may be something that could be part of his legacy.

Be all that as it may, we should pray for the repose of his soul and for the cardinals who will pick his successor.

2) That said, what's next will be huge regardless of which cardinal is chosen as Pope Francis' successor. Around the world, more people are turning to Catholicism, per reports of rising conversions and increasing adult baptisms. ETWN's Raymond Arroyo said to WMAL's Larry O'Connor during O'Connor & Company noted that in dioceses around the country saw a 30 to 70 percent rise in conversions and adult baptism.

3) ETWN's Raymond Arroyo posted the following on X.

The world’s Cardinals have been called to Rome for the first General Congregation meeting TOMORROW in Rome. This is the precursor to the Conclave. (For Cardinals outside of Rome this will be a challenge.)

4) It is interesting to note that one of the last world leaders to meet with Pope Francis is Catholic convert, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance (R). It is also interesting to note that Francis died the day after Easter Sunday.

5) It is time to pray for the Church. To pray for the world. While his methods may or may not have been the best, to his credit, Francis sought to bring Christians and others together. Francis is a reminder that Christians should not be divided in their beliefs and faith. According to John 17:21, Jesus said: "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Jesus did not teach churches or a divided church. Jesus taught that His Church should be united. Per Beliefnet, about half of the world's Christians are Catholics. The other half or Protestant and evangelical Christians, Orthodox, or 'other.'

6) We may return to this in the days ahead.

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L. A. “Tony” Kovach is a publisher who has earned multiple awards in history. He and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of Manufactured Home Living News.com (MHLivingNews.com) and Manufactured Home Pro News.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing. ###

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