Pope Francis Dead at 88

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, otherwise known as Pope Francis, passed away early Monday morning. He was 88 years old.

Vatican Cardinal Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis on Monday with these words:

“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

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. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.

“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

The first pope from the Jesuit society, Francis made a name for himself after spending a decade slowly but surely pulling the Roman Catholic Church into a more progressive direction. He routinely advocated against close borders and capitalism and for cultural Marxism, radical environmentalism, and a lessening of the church’s strong stance against homosexuality and abortion.

While there is no such thing as a ‘good’ pope, Francis was particularly noxious and vexatious. He affirmed the faith of Joe Biden by saying he would never refuse him communion because the President’s love for abortion is between him and God, endorsing civil unions for gay couples, appointing multiple pro-choice people to his pro-life organization, saying that he’s open to priests blessing homosexual relationships, so long as there is no suggestion that they’re blessing gay marriages, and continuing to promote and endorse notorious LGBTQ-affirming priest James Martin.

With his passing, the College of Cardinals will call for a papal conclave to be convened, which will elect the next pope by secret ballot. While there are 252 cardinals, only those under the age of 80 can vote, which pegs the number of participants at 138 electors. Once a candidate receives 2/3rds of the votes, a new pope will be crowned in a process that typically takes two weeks.

This is a developing story.