The death of Pope Francis, who reshaped the papacy through his humility and empathy, is being mourned.

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m. (CEST) Monday hours after the 88-year-old made his last public appearance. After meeting one on one with Vice President JD Vance, the pontiff made his way through a crowd of 35,000 in St. Peter’s Square in Rome for Easter services via the popemobile.

The leader of the Catholic Church was hospitalized in February after a bout of bronchitis. Vatican officials described a “complex clinical picture” including a diagnosis of double pneumonia. The pope’s health had been in decline for years.

The papacy of Pope Francis was marked by a number of firsts: He was the first non-European pope in a thousand years, the first from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. He was known for his advocacy for poor and marginalized people, including migrants and refugees. And he didn’t shy away from political or social issues. He called for action on climate change and ushered in a new era of inclusivity for LGBTQ+ people, famously responding to a question about sexual orientation of priests by saying, “Who am I to judge?”

“That was a phrase that early on in his service as pope really, I think, resounded all throughout the world,” said Father Stephen Fichter, pastor at Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in Wyckoff, in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.

“[T]he word Catholic means universal in Greek. And I think what Pope Francis was trying to say by that statement as he did with all of his actions, he was saying to us that we need to be universal. We should not exclude anyone from our hearts or our actions. And that we really have to be those people that, in imitation of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis tried to do so well.”

The pope had his critics, including conservatives who felt alienated by the church. He was also criticized by some for failing to take a strong enough stance on the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Cardinals from around the world are gathering in the Vatican City to choose the successor to the late pontiff.