# The Pope has died \[April 21, 2025\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2025, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296 "2025-04-21T08:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/21 "2025-04-21T11:20:07Z")
Find the Pope in the Pizza: https://player.vimeo.com/video/59509411?app_id=122963 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/22 "2025-04-21T11:27:27Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Is Francis the first Pope in history who died on Easter? > [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of [Pentecost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost), seven weeks later If we consider the whole Easter season of 7 weeks, then 7/52 or ~13% of all popes should die during that timeframe. Likewise 13% should be invested or elevated or whatever the proper term is for their selection. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/23 "2025-04-21T11:46:02Z")
May he Rest in Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/24 "2025-04-21T11:50:15Z")
266 popes (there is some minor disputes yet 266 would probably be the Vatican approved number) Pentecost seems to add an unfair 7 days to Easter to the Annunciation - 40 days later. Yet it doesn’t matter. None have died between 40-49 days of Easter. Five have did within 40 (really 22) 🕊 Pope Francis (2025) (Easter Monday) 🕊 Pope Leo XI (1605) (13 days after Easter) 🕊 Pope Pius V (1572) (22 days) 🕊 Pope Martin IV (1285) (Easter Wednesday) 🕊 Pope Agapetus I (536) (Easter Wednesday) and that is 1.88% ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/25 "2025-04-21T12:12:04Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Ratze OTOH was a terrible person through and through and one of the many enablers of child abuse when he was still Bishop of Munich. Agree. Benedict was a fucking monster. Francis wasn’t perfect but I believe he meant well in his own way. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/26 "2025-04-21T13:13:13Z")
> **Slightly OT about Easter, but not worth its own thread** > > It’s just that definitions about calendar events differ between countries and certainly between different denominations within the same religion. For the Swedish Lutheran Church, this current week is Easter week. The one leading up to Good Friday is called “Quiet Week.” Cathloics in Spain celebrate Easter from palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/27 "2025-04-21T14:03:31Z")
I’m currently unemployed and technically eligible to be Pope\*, but I think openly declaring you are interested mostly eliminates you. Francis was the first non-European Pope in centuries, and the first from the Western Hemisphere. He was the first Jesuit Pope, and had a hard\*\* science (Chemistry) education (though I’ve heard “master’s degree” isn’t quite accurate) He championed the poor and underserved, and softened the stance on homosexuality. He certainly had flaws and didn’t go far enough on many issues, but certainly one of the better popes. Brian \* male and technically Catholic \*\* hard vs soft, not hard vs easy ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/28 "2025-04-21T14:15:36Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > I am glad he never had to meet with him at all. Sending him off to be lectured on compassion was a noble last act for humanity. He did meet Vance. > **[Vance meets Pope Francis on Easter Sunday after tangle over migration, gets...](https://apnews.com/article/pope-vance-us-migration-c9fc577cabff138de7bd8026133994fc)** > > U.S. Vice President JD Vance has met briefly with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday as the pontiff recovers from pneumonia. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/29 "2025-04-21T14:18:13Z")
Sad, but not surprising. He must’ve forced himself to live through Holy Week and the Easter Weekend. At least it was quick when it happened; no long drawn out Papal death watch like with John Paul II. The Conclave will be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/30 "2025-04-21T14:20:12Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > But Easter Monday still is part of the Easter holidays for Catholics, at least here in Germany where it’s a public holiday. For Catholics, “part of the Easter holidays” extends for a full seven weeks after Easter, so it’s almost certain that some Popes have died in that season. I think the big question is who will succeed him. He did a lot of good for the Church, but the Church is too big, too old, and too traditional to change quickly: It’ll take another two or three Papacies to make any real changes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/31 "2025-04-21T14:26:14Z")
Protestant here. This is sad news. He seemed to be as progressive as the RCC would allow him to be and I talked to people that met him and he seemed like a truly nice guy. It will be interesting to see what direction the College of Cardinals goes now. I bumped the [papabile thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-papable-right-now/1014475). ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/32 "2025-04-21T14:53:21Z")
I’m at a loss as to how anyone could see Francis as smarmy or pompous. On the contrary, he was the least pompous pope in my lifetime, and I go back a few popes. Francis was a good antidote to Benedict. While I disagree with some of Francis’s stands, and I wish he’d gone further on others, he did many things I approved of, including advocating for migrants; urging greater acceptance of LGBTQ people; closing the “death penalty” loophole; advocated for considering harming the environment as a sin; said atheists can go to Heaven, chastised both Trump and Vance; told Catholics who oppose abortion to be equally opposed to the death penalty, the impoverished, and other vulnerable groups; and abrogated the traditional Mass, which rigid Benedict had reinstated. I hope the next pope is like Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/33 "2025-04-21T15:10:25Z")
How eerie. Last night I dreamt about the pope, where he was like James Brown stalling getting off the stage while a Cardinal kept trying to put a satin cape on him. Then I wake up and see he really died. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/34 "2025-04-21T15:12:42Z")
It’s a sign from Heaven. You’re papabile! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/35 "2025-04-21T15:31:04Z")
I liked Francis. A great and humble man with a good heart. I hope he didn’t infarct after Vance started complaining about not being sufficiently thanked. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/36 "2025-04-21T16:41:43Z")
With the recent release of the movie _Conclave,_ lots more people will have an idea of how a new pope is elected. This would be a good time to watch it. > **[Conclave (2024) ⭐ 7.4 | Drama, Thriller](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20215234/)** > > 2h | PG The protocol, ceremony, dress, secrecy, political machinations-- I’m sure those were portrayed accurately. And the stepped-up security in the modern techie age is pretty mind-boggling. They didn’t have to worry about cell phones, drones, hidden cameras, etc., in the Middle Ages. I guess just stuff like poison, stabbings, and maybe, rats. (The furry kind.) The trivia section of the IMDB link on _Conclave_ is really fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/37 "2025-04-21T16:46:51Z")
[Did Meeting JD Vance Kill the Pope?](https://www.discourseblog.com/p/did-meeting-jd-vance-kill-the-pope?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) > It’s certainly _humiliating_ and _depressing_ that one of the last moments of Francis’s consequential life involved being in the same physical space as JD Vance, one of the most contemptible creatures currently scuttling around our poor distressed planet. But is that proximity to the vice president a _cause_ of Francis’s death? Was meeting with JD Vance, even for a couple of minutes, a dreadful enough experience that Pope Francis chose to die rather than risk it ever happening again? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/38 "2025-04-21T17:16:48Z")
First thing I thought, was that it was hard for even a Pope to survive such an encounter with someone with weapon’s grade bad faith. On edit: And yes, I responded without seeing @K364 reply! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/39 "2025-04-21T17:19:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > With the recent release of the movie _Conclave,_ lots more people will have an idea of how a new pope is elected. With the caveat, of course, that none of us have any idea how accurate that idea is. Nobody actually knows but God and the Cardinals, and they ain’t telling. Of course, with the high turnover in cardinals, it’s even quite plausible that every conclave works completely differently. Maybe the movie is an accurate depiction of some conclaves, but not others. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296/40 "2025-04-21T17:29:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nobody actually knows but God and the Cardinals, and they ain’t telling. _Au contraire,_ you’re right that God isn’t telling, but enough living people have participated in past conclaves that the process is well-known. Not to mention the Vatican staff who have been around for many years. If it was all that secret, how would they know how to do the next one? > [Is 'Conclave' an accurate portrayal of the pope selection process? : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/21/nx-s1-5308233/conclave-new-pope-accuracy) **NOTE: There is a major spoiler in the NPR article. If you plan to see the movie, suggest you skip the article.** > In the Oscar-winning film _Conclave,_ the complex political structure of the Catholic Church is laid out on the big screen as the College of Cardinals gather to elect a new pope. Based on a book of the same name by novelist Robert Harris, the plot of the film is fictional, but the papal election process, known as a conclave, is real. > > According to Rev. Thomas Reese, a columnist at Religion News Service with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, **the film was quite faithful to the truth.** > … My bold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pope-has-died-april-21-2025/1017296.md?page=3)