The Vatican has confirmed death of Pope Francis on Monday at the age of 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at Saint Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.

The confirmation was contained in a statement released to the press on Monday.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, it is with deep sorrow that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in the statement published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.

“This morning at 7:35 am (0535 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His church.”

Francis’s death came just a day after he delighted the crowds of worshippers at the Vatican on Easter Sunday with an appearance on the balcony at Saint Peter’s Basilica despite still convalescing after a severe illness.

Francis had come close to dying twice earlier this year while suffering from pneumonia.

He spent 38 days in hospital before he was released on March 23.

On Sunday he wished the crowds on Saint Peter’s Square a “Happy Easter” as he waved and in his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) benediction he called for freedom of thought and tolerance.

Some believe that the new data from NASA, paired with Biblical text, could pinpoint the day Jesus was crucified.

NASA scientists believe that a lunar eclipse occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus, based on data from its astronomical models.

An article from the space agency noted that the Christian Bible wrote that the moon turned to blood in the skies over Jerusalem after Jesus’s crucifixion.

“From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land,” reads one iteration of Matthew 27:45.

Additionally, early Christian texts prophesied that on the day of Jesus’s crucifixion, the sky would look eerie.
In a gathering 50 days before Jesus’s death, the apostle Peter predicts in Acts 2:20: “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.”

The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse from the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City February 21, 2008. (credit: REUTERS/ELIANA APONTE)
Biblical eclipses

Supposed eyewitness events of the situation also note that the skies looked strange after Jesus died on the cross.
“At his crucifixion the sun was darkened; the stars appeared and in all the world people lighted lamps from the sixth hour till evening; the moon appeared like blood,” notes Pontius Pilate’s report of Jesus’s crucifixion.

Scientists hypothesized that this could potentially be referring to a lunar eclipse, during which the moon takes a reddish hue.

The space agency said that based on ancient texts, scientists narrowed down a possible date of Jesus’s crucifixion to Friday, April 3, 33 C.E., a date traditionally associated with Jesus’s crucifixion. A lunar eclipse occurred that day, which would have made the moon appear red in the skies over Israel.

Christians believe Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, which falls two days before Easter Sunday. The holiday celebrating Jesus’s resurrection is determined by the first full moon after the first day of spring, a system meant to align with Passover.

NASA’s findings provide a new layer of context for descriptions of seemingly otherworldly natural occurrences that happened during biblical events such as the crucifixion of Jesus.

The president told Israel of his decision earlier in April, according to the report, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit.

US President Donald Trump blocked a planned Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites in favor of negotiating a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing administration officials and others with information on the matter.

Trump’s decision came after discussions on whether to provide support to the Jewish state or follow a diplomatic course, with some in Washington favoring a more hawkish approach. In contrast, others were dubious that a strike could destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities.

However, an agreement was ultimately obtained, deciding against military action as Iran consented to talks.
The president told Israel of his decision earlier in April, according to the report, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit.

Israel had made plans, according to the report, to attack Iranian nuclear sites next month, with the IDF prepared to carry them out with US endorsement.

This endorsement would be key to the success of Israel’s plan which would require US help, rendering Israel’s ally a key agent in the attack.

What was Israel’s alleged plan?

The NYT report said that multiple officials briefed on Israel’s plans and confidential discussions inside the Trump administration who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that Israel long planned to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, including “rehearsing bombing runs and calculating how much damage it could do with or without American help.”

This was escalated as support within the Israeli cabinet for a strike grew after Iran suffered a “string of setbacks” in 2024 such as the April 14 ballistic missile attack on Israel when most of their missiles were unable to penetrate American and Israeli defenses, as well as the attacks on Hezbollah, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule over Syria cutting off a prime weapons smuggling route for Iran, the destruction of air defense systems in Iran and Syria, and that of facilities that Iran uses to make fuel for its ballistic missiles.

Senior Israeli officials reportedly updated American counterparts of a plan that would have combined a commando raid on underground nuclear sites with a bombing campaign, with Israel hoping that American aircraft would aid in the bombing.

However, Israeli military officials stated that the commando operation would not be carried out until October, with Netanyahu needing it carried out more quickly, NYT added.

Due to this, Israeli officials began shifting their proposal to an extended bombing campaign that would have required increased US assistance, according to officials briefed on the plan cited by the NYT.

The report mentioned the US officials more inclined to Israel’s plans to attack as US Central Command (CENTCOM)’s Commanding Officer Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, and Mike Waltz, the White House’s National Security Adviser.

The US relocated six B-2 bombers, capable of carrying 30,000-pound bombs which are essential to destroying Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, to Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean, with the administration considering moving additional fighter aircraft to the Middle East, potentially to the US Air Force base in Israel, the report added.

Earlier in April, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard presented a new intelligence assessment that a buildup of American weaponry in the Middle East could “potentially spark a wider conflict with Iran that the US did not want.”

Doubts were also echoed by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others, the NYT added.
Reuters contributed to this report.