By Fr. Raymond J. de Souza.

Recent popes know how to die liturgically.

The death of Pope Francis is the fourth "octave" death among the last six popes. The Holy Father died on Easter Monday, the second day of the Easter octave.

St. John XXIII died the day after Pentecost in 1963, at that time the second day of the Pentecost octave (now the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church).

In 2005, St. John Paul the Great died on the vigil of the octave of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope Benedict died on 31st December 2022, the vigil of the octave of Christmas, the feast of Mary, Mother of God.

St. Paul sixth did not die during a great octave, but on the feast of the Transfiguration, 6th August 1978, a fitting day to go to glory.

After Pope Francis returned from the hospital in late March, his physicians reported that he had almost died twice, and at times was so enfeebled that he could only sign official documents with the initial "F" rather than his name. He was weak and barely able to speak in his public appearances. It was likely that this would be his last Holy Week. While it was not expected that he would die Easter Monday morning, Pope Francis did have to decide how he would spend the last Holy Week of his life. He did so in admirable fashion.

It was an echo of Holy Week twenty years ago, when St. John Paul was too sick to attend any liturgies; too infirm indeed to leave the papal apartments. He came to his window in the Apostolic Palace to give the Easter Sunday blessing Urbi et Orbi but, even though he tried, could not speak.

Pope Francis was in better shape and, although not knowing that he would be felled by a stroke on Monday morning, was evidently preparing for the end. He lived his last Holy Week in an intensely personal way, using his remaining strength in ways that manifested his heart.

On Palm Sunday, he was wheeled to St. Peter's at the end of Mass to greet the faithful. Pope Francis had not celebrated Mass in public in nearly three years due to infirmity, but was present multiple times to preside and preach. As even that became impossible now, the Holy Father nevertheless desired to join the faithful, even if briefly. From early in his pontificate, Francis has had a deep conviction that an important part of his ministry was simply to be present. It was most evident in some of his trips, as when he told typhoon survivors in the Philippines, "I felt that I had to be here."

Before Holy Week, Pope Francis made private visits to St. Peter's, to pray before the Altar of the Chair of Peter, as well as at the tomb of St. Pius X. After visiting the tombs of his predecessors, he went on the eve of Holy Week to St. Mary Major, to pray before the image of the Salus Populi Romani. His own tomb has been prepared nearby. Did he consider it a preparatory visit to his own grave?

He had gone there on the first full day of his pontificate, and more than a hundred times since, including before and after every trip. He may have thought that one last departure was imminent.

During Holy Week, when it was evident that the Holy Father would not be at the principal liturgies, various Cardinal delegates were named. The Vatican routinely handles such protocol matters - Cardinals automatically fall into strict order of seniority when they assemble. Francis chose instead two Cardinals retired from lesser offices for the Chrism Mass and Easter Sunday. For this last Holy Week, personal friendship, not formal precedence, would prevail.

Then came the moving visit to Regina Coeli prison on Holy Thursday. Since his first Holy Week, just a fortnight after his election in March 2013, Francis has chosen to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper outside of the Vatican, usually in a prison. In 2013, he went to the Casal del Marmo youth detention center. That custom, which he brought with him to Rome from Buenos Aires, emphasizes that Jesus was imprisoned on Holy Thursday. There is so much happening on Holy Thursday - Passover, the Eucharist, the priesthoo...