Nurse at Pope Francis’ deathbed gives more details of his final minutes
A nurse recounts details of Pope Francis’s final minutes at his deathbed. She describes his physical condition, last words, and the emotional atmosphere surrounding his passing. The account offers new insights into the Pope’s final moments that were previously not publicly disclosed. The testimony may influence how Pope Francis’s legacy is understood by the public. The article is part of broader coverage of Pope Francis’s death and its impact.
about 22 hours ago
Pope Francis died on the morning of 21 April 2025 after a brief coma, according to his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, who described a calm and intimate final encounter that included the Pope holding his hand, looking directly at the nurse, and expressing concern for individual lives and global issues such as Ukraine 1.
Strappetti recalled that the Pope “held my hand, looked me in the eyes, and then entered a coma.”
The coma lasted only a short time before the Pope passed away.
The day before his death, despite evident fatigue, Pope Francis chose to celebrate Easter in St. Peter’s Square, remaining among the faithful.
Strappetti noted that this encounter brought the Pope genuine joy and reflected his lifelong emphasis on personal encounter.
The nurse reported that Pope Francis spoke about Ukraine, saying he wanted to visit the country in person and was following the war’s developments closely.
During a conversation about Strappetti’s own situation as a divorced man, the Pope responded with concern, illustrating his consistent attention to individual lives.
The testimony was published on 3 May 2026, marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, and includes references to related Vatican messages from Pope Leo XIV.
How does Pope Francis’s death illustrate Catholic teachings on dying?
Pope Francis’s death can be read—without presuming to judge his interior disposition—through the lens of what the Church teaches about dying: death as a “door” into Christ’s mercy, the need for readiness rooted in faith and charity, and the obligation to accompany the dying with dignity (especially through palliative care, not euthanasia or assisted suicide).
In the Church’s prayer and teaching, Christian death is not treated as the “wall” of annihilation but as something illuminated by the Paschal Mystery—by Christ’s victory over death. Pope Leo XIV explicitly describes Francis’s death in these terms: “Death is not a wall, but a door that opens out onto the Mercy” that Francis proclaimed, and that Francis “concluded his earthly pilgrimage in the embrace of the Risen Christ” in the “heart of the Paschal light.”
This aligns with Pope Francis’s own catechesis and homiletic emphasis: he teaches that the “true light” for facing death is the Resurrection of Christ, and that faith in that Resurrection enables Christians to confront death “without being overwhelmed by fear.”
The Catechism likewise frames death as the end of earthly life, yet with urgency: remembering mortality helps us bring life to fulfillment.
Even if the Church cannot predict how each person’s death will unfold, it calls believers to be ready. The Catechism states: “The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death.”
In Pope Francis’s teaching, Christian readiness is not escapism; it is a positive closeness to Christ—through prayer, the sacraments, and charity—so that one’s life is oriented toward God.
Pope Francis also insisted that death “comes like a thief” (echoing the Gospel), meaning it is not something humans can fully control through “planning.”
That realism is not undermined by the reported medical details of Francis’s death (stroke, coma, irreversible cardiovascular collapse). The point for Catholic teaching is that, in practice, death can arrive through ordinary human means; therefore, the need for readiness remains.
One of the clearest Catholic “how” of dying is not only what we believe about death, but how we treat people as death approaches.
Pope Francis underlined the Church’s moral teaching that ordinary care owed to the sick cannot be legitimately interrupted, and that palliative care is a form of charity.
He also emphasized that the Church “accompan[ies] people towards death, but not provoke death or facilitate any form of suicide.”
The Catechism adds that the dying should receive attention and care to live their last moments “in dignity and peace”, and that relatives should ensure they receive the sacraments “at the proper time.”
So Francis’s death, as it was received and interpreted by the Church, illustrates the Catholic approach that death is met with reverence, medical compassion, and sacramental readiness, not with intentional ending of life.
Catholic teaching does not treat grief as merely private emotion; it is a place where Christ’s compassion must be communicated and embodied. Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel showing Jesus moved with compassion before a widow’s sorrow, concluding: “How important it is to communicate that same look of compassion to all those who grieve for the death of their loved ones!”
Similarly, he described death in family life as deeply wounding, yet insisted that faith in the Resurrection helps families not let darkness have the last word—because “Love is stronger than death.”
This compassion is also expressed sacramentally in the Church’s prayer at death. The Catechism quotes the Church’s commendation of the dying, which frames the dying Christian’s journey as being met by Mary, angels, and saints, and seeing the Redeemer “face to face.”
And it teaches that death includes a definitive spiritual orientation: each person receives eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of death in a particular judgment that relates the life to Christ.
Finally, Pope Francis consistently linked “a good death” to how one lives—especially in mercy and charity. In his catechesis on Saint Joseph as patron of a happy death, he highlights that Christian faith invites trust rather than fear and calls attention to faith, hope, and charity toward all.
He also taught the moral psychology of charity: “The one who practices mercy does not fear death.”
Viewed through Catholic teaching, Pope Francis’s death illustrates three connected truths about dying: (1) death is illuminated by the Resurrection and therefore interpreted as a “door” to mercy, (2) Christians must be ready—through prayer, sacraments, and charity—because death cannot be fully controlled, and (3) the dying must be treated with dignity through accompaniment and palliative care, rejecting euthanasia and assisted suicide.