It's Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025.

I'm Albert Moller, and this is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.

Pope Francis died early Monday morning, early yesterday morning, and by the time the news had reached the United States, it was very clear

that a transition in the Roman Catholic Church is underway. The surprise came in the sense of

timing because Pope Francis had appeared in a public event having to do with Easter, and he made

that public appearance just on Sunday. He also met in a very

brief meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, and those events, along with a couple of other

details on his calendar were the very last acts in the 12-year pontificate of Pope Francis. Pope Francis died

at age 88, and he had long suffered with respiratory challenges

and with other health challenges at advanced age. Eighty-eight is old for a Pope, and in the case of

Pope Francis, he had only one healthy lung, at least part of another lung, had been removed by

surgery decades earlier. He had

developed recurring bouts with respiratory illnesses, including the dreaded pneumonia, and it appeared

in the period between February and early March that indeed he might pass away. In fact, it was

rumored that he was very close to death. But the headlines

then became that he left the hospital and that he was resuming at least some of his papal duties

and responsibilities, including at least some limited public events. And then came the surprising

news that in the very early morning there at the Vatican in Vatican

in Vatican City, Pope Francis had died. That sets into process a series of events that are

absolutely medieval, and in some cases even older in the tradition of the papacy. And by the time

the Vatican will make announcements expected later today about the exact timetable,

the big schedule of what's going to happen is that there will be a very public funeral for the Pope.

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