Filipino bishops mourn Pope Francis' death
(FILES) Pope Francis waves to the crowd during the weekly general audience on 20 March 2024 at St Peter's Square in The Vatican. Pope Francis "spent a calm night, is resting", the Vatican said in the morning update on 28 February 2025. Pope Francis's condition was continuing to improve, as the 88-year-old pontiff marked two weeks in hospital with pneumonia in both lungs.
Filippo Monteforte / AFP
Filipino bishops mourned the death of Pope Francis on Monday, 21 April.
Cardinal Jose Advincula recalled Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines in 2015 in what he described as "a moment of grace forever etched in our national memory."
"Under the rain in Tacloban, standing with the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, Pope Francis showed us what it means to suffer with others and find hope in the midst of pain," Advincula said.
"In Luneta, as he celebrated the Holy Eucharist with millions, he embraced our joy, our faith, and our longing for a Church that walks with its people. His presence, prayers, and preaching have confirmed us in faith, enlivened our hope, and animated us to charity. And indeed, we fondly recall his special love for Filipinos all over the world," he added.
In a separate statement, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines during the pope's 2015 visit to the country, remembered "Lolo Kiko."
"He was the gift of the Good Shepherd to the Church. He served us with humility. He showed us God's mercy. He linked us with bridges of compassion with fellow believers and with non-believers," Villegas said.
"He bravely disturbed us in our complacency and prejudices. He taught us to care for God's creation. He taught us Jesus. Pope Francis was our Jesus for our age," he added.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, 21 April, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on 14 February, after suffering from a bout of bronchitis for several days.
His clinical situation gradually worsened, and his doctors diagnosed bilateral pneumonia on 18 February.
After 38 days in the hospital, the late Pope returned to his Vatican residence at the Casa Santa Marta to continue his recovery.
In 1957, in his early 20s, Jorge Mario Bergoglio underwent surgery in his native Argentina to remove a portion of his lung that had been affected by a severe respiratory infection.
As he aged, Pope Francis frequently suffered bouts of respiratory illnesses, even cancelling a planned visit to the United Arab Emirates in November 2023 due to influenza and lung inflammation.