pope francis
Pope Francis, the Catholic Church’s first Latin American pontiff, died early on Easter Monday (April 21). He was 88 years old.
“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 Father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His church,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo said in a statement.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Francis became pope in 2013 and charmed the world with his humble personality and concern for the poor. He suffered from chronic lung disease, and in February of this year, he spent 38 days at the Gemelli hospital in Rome for a respiratory condition that developed into double pneumonia.
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Following the news of his death, a wave of Latin artists shared their condolences on social media.
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“Rest in peace and power, Pope Francis, you opened hearts and minds and were fearless in your guidance,” Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for putting love first until your last moments on this earth.”
“Francisco, you didn’t want to please everyone, but rather to speak your mind and what was in keeping with Christ’s word. What a wonderful way to honor hope. Rest in peace, dear brother,” Spanish crooner Alejandro Sanz noted on X.
As for Colombian pop star Sebastian Yatra and the account manager of the late Argentine Leo Dan, both shared photos they had of the day they met the Pope, and captioned their posts with a similar sentiment: “vuela alto” (fly high).
Meanwhile, Puerto Rican rapper Residente shared a photo of a young Francis on Instagram Stories, stating that he is “unrepeatable, special, unique,” while Argentine duo Pimpinela and Argentine pop star Emilia expressed their love and respect, all on their respective Instagram Stories.
The next pope has not yet been named.
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The internet was served with yet another reminder to not believe everything they see online. A photo of Pope Francis wearing a puffer coat has been confirmed to be fake.
As reported by The Washington Post, the current head of the Catholic church turned heads last week and it wasn’t because of anything related to religion. On Friday, March 24 an image surfaced on the internet of Pope Francis strutting in a very fashionable chunky full-length white puffer coat. The outerwear piece in question also featured a belt at the midsection, extended cuffs, and a detachable hood.
Naturally, the photo of the holy man big stepping with all the streetwear feels was a sight to be seen and quickly went viral on online. So much so a heavy debate quickly ensued on Twitter on whether the photograph was real or not. Soon after a 31-year-old construction worker finally took claim of doctoring the flick after ingesting mushrooms that produce hallucinations.
Pablo Xavier of Chicago gave a statement to Buzzfeed News on how the viral photograph came to be.
“I’m trying to figure out ways to make something funny because that’s what I usually try to do,” he said. “I try to do funny stuff or trippy art — psychedelic stuff. It just dawned on me: I should do the Pope. Then it was just coming like water: ‘The Pope in Balenciaga puffy coat, Moncler, walking the streets of Rome, Paris,’ stuff like that.”
While the pontiff has yet to address the forgery directly he did speak to the dangers of A.I. during a conference at The Vatican on Monday, March 27.
“I would therefore encourage you, in your deliberations, to make the intrinsic dignity of every man and woman the key criterion in evaluating emerging technologies,” said Francis. “These will prove ethically sound to the extent that they help respect that dignity and increase its expression at every level of human life.”
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Photo: Getty
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