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 Pontificate of Pope Francis, 2025 It is hard to believe that a year has passed, but today marks the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis. On Easter Monday last year, the world was stunned to receive the news that Pope Francis had died at his apartment in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. He was 88 years old and had served as the 266th pontiff for just over 13 years. The stamps above are the last stamps issued with his likeness prior to his death. Born in Argentina on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the eldest of five children born to Italian immigrants to the South American country. In 1969, he was ordained as a priest and would eventually be created cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the historic retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013 and took the name "Francis". He was the first pope from the New World of the Americas, and the first Jesuit to be elected pope.  Tomb of Pope Francis Photo by Frmikecsc From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license The funeral for Pope Francis was held on Saturday, April 26, 2025, followed by his burial at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The Interregnum period of the "sede vacante" (“vacant seat”) ended on May 8, 2025, when the Conclave of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as his successor, the current Pope Leo XIV. There are many stamps issued by Vatican City depicting Pope Francis and the events of his pontificate. Here are just three stamps highlighting his life and reign as pope, as well as the minisheet issued to commemorate his final international travels in 2024 (released in late 2025). 
  Pope Francis: Beginning of Pontificate (Scott 1525, 2013) 80th Birthday (Scott 1636, 2016) 50th Anniversary of Ordination (Scott 1728, 2019) Minisheet, Travels of Pope Francis (2025) REFERENCES: |
