Sites from the country’s main newspapers kept the news of the pontiff’s death for a short time on its main pages
A this Monday (21.br.2025), at 88, has little repercussion in the Chinese media compared to the main newspapers of the West. Communication vehicles in the country registered the death, but only the –Readi -based news site – kept the news of Pope Francis’ death on the homepage (main page) of the site for hours, while others published notes.
Besides reporting the death of the Pope, the report of the Guancha It also highlights a speech by the Pontiff about the economic rise of China and cites that Francisco has always been open to strengthen relations with the Asian country. “During his 12 years as Pope, Francisco publicly expressed his love and blessings for China several times and struggled to promote the improvement of Sino-Vatican relations. In an interview with a Hong Kong English communication vehicle, Francisco said that for him China has always been a ‘reference point of greatness’, ‘not just one (big) country, but also a great culture with infinite wisdom'” “says the text.
An explanation for the death of the Pontiff not having resonated so much in Chinese territory is that China is a country with a small Christian population. According to a 2023 article, only 2% of the Chinese declare themselves Christians, among whom Protestants prevail. The vast majority of Chinese says they have no religion, although they participate in some spiritual ceremonies. The country had 1.408 billion inhabitants in 2024, according to data from the National Department of Statistics released in January this year.
Other newspapers that kept the news in their homepages, but without the main highlight were the state -owned company and the . In China, the time of the Pope’s death was at 16h. See images below headlines until 23h (China time):
GUANCHA
CGTN
GLOBAL TIMES
This is the comparison with some of the world’s top newspapers at the same time:
NEW YORK TIMES (USA)
THE WASHINGTON POST (USA)
The country (SPAIN)
CLARION (ARGENTINA)
The world (FRANCE)
Pope Francis’ death
Pope Francis (21.br.2025) at the age of 88. The pontiff was in 700 years. Your death:“At 7:35 am this morning [2h35 de Brasília], The bishop of Rome, Francisco, returned to the Father’s house. All his life was devoted to the service of the Lord and his church ”.
Francisco suffered from breathing problems. By 2023, he had spent 3 days hospitalized to treat bronchitis. In March 2024, he failed a speech during a Vatican ceremony.
Argentine born in the city of Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 2025 at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome, Italy, to treat bronchitis, but tests revealed bilateral pneumonia.
On February 22, the Vatican said that Francisco faced one and had to undergo a blood transfusion and that he “It was not out of danger”. The tests performed showed plateletopenia (decreased number of platelets in the blood) associated with anemia, which led to the need for transfusion. The religious and was recovering. His last public appearance was on Sunday (20.abr) ,.
Last words
On Sunday (20.br.2025), he made an appearance on the porch of the Basilica of St. Peter, during the celebration of Easter in the Vatican. In the wheelchair and struggling to speak, the high pontiff wished a “happy Easter” to the faithful.
Then he passed the word to the master of ceremonies, Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who read the message “Urbi and the Orbi” (“To the city [de Roma] and to the world ”) of the Pope. In the end, he made the blessing before the thousands of faithful gathered in São Pedro Square.
In the message, the Pope urged politicians not to give in “To the logic of fear” And made an appeal to disarmament. “The need that each people feel to guarantee their own defense cannot become a widespread race to weaponry”he said.
Or conclave
With the death of Francisco, the cardinals – from origin of origin in the Latin “cum clave”, which means “with key” – for the choice of 267º Dad. The ritual, which goes back to the 13th century, is held in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where cardinals under 80 come together to elect the new leader of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church. The amount of cardinals may vary as long as it does not exceed the limit of 120.
To be elected, a candidate needs to receive 2/3 of the votes. The result is transmitted to the audience present in the Vatican and the world through a smoke that comes out of a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. It is produced by burning voting banknotes with chemicals to give the desired color. THE black smoke It means that the Pope was not chosen and the vote will follow.
When a cardinal receives the necessary votes, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks if he accepts the position. If so, the elected chooses his papal name and the banknotes are burned with the chemicals that produce the white smokewhich will communicate to Choice of the new leader of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church.
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