Pope Francis has died at 88, and speculation is already swirling around who will become the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church.
Francis died in the early hours of April 21, the day after Easter. He had been hospitalized in Rome on Friday, when he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. Francis was elected pope in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI made the unexpected decision to step down from the chair of Saint Peter, becoming the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.
Francis’ papacy often adopted a progressive tone, with the pope recently making headlines for criticizing Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, and the Trump administration’s “program of mass deportations.”
However, Francis also upheld Catholic doctrine on abortion, gay marriage, and gender ideology, although critics have complained that his wording in statements on these issues is sometimes…
