April 22, 2025 • 5 mins
Ines De La Cuetara joins Mendte in the Morning from Rome to talk about the passing of Pope Francis including the cause of death and his recent health.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now no the cause of death of Pope Francis and
we have plans now they've all been set for his
funeral on Saturday. Let's get the latest from rome Is
Inez de la Catera, who has covering it for ABC ANDEZ.
Good morning, good morning. What time is it? There? Is
(00:21):
it afternoon for you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Now it is I'm losing track of time, but it
is twelve twenty three.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, well, good afternoon to you. The cause of death
that was released yesterday, what's the exact cause of death?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, so we did get kind of more information throughout
the day yesterday. He died of a stroke and heart failure,
and we do believe that it was all linked to
his recent health issues. We know he was hospitalized on
February fourteenth. He spent over a month at the hospital.
He's initially hospitalized with from kitas then turned into double pneumonia.
(01:02):
So so you know, we had a hunch that it
was linked to that, and doctors did confirm yesterday that
it was all related. But the exact cause of death was, yeah,
heart failure and stroke.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah. You know, it's odd because he was sick for
so long and he had been had health problems for
a while, and it looks it looked like it was
going to be fatal many times, and he fought through
and he looked great the other day when he when
he addressed the crowd and when he talked to JD. Van.
So even though I think the world knew what was coming,
(01:33):
it was kind of shocking that it happened when he
when it did. Did you feel the same way about it?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Oh? Absolutely, And you know, I was out saying Peter
Square yesterday and we saw kind of people coming in
and paying their respects throughout the day, and I think, yeah,
there was a lot of sorrow, just sadness, people just
mourning his passing, but also lots of surprise because, like
you said, we saw him on Easter Sunday. He did
look frail, you know, and I think what he did
over his Easter blessing, he sounded his voice sounded weak.
(02:04):
But we thought that the fact that he was out
and about was an indication that he was doing better.
The fact that he was released from the hospital was
taken to be a sign that he was doing better.
So there was a lot of yeah, surprise that it
that it came when it did, and a lot of sadness,
and we're going to be seeing you know, over a
billion Catholics now mourning his passing uh for the coming weeks.
(02:28):
This is something that's having, you know, big, a big
impact around the globe.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Like many popes before him, he made his own funeral
plans and they're a little unusual. They're they're not the
common big pomp and circumstance. It's a simpler funeral, isn't it.
Could you give us the details.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yes, it's it's been you know, it's been really interesting
to kind of get those details. They're they're coming in slowly.
But we know, for example, that he wanted a simple coffin.
We also know that so yesterday in his last little testament,
we found out that he wants to be very that
Saint Mary Major. That's unusual, that's you know, just seven
folks have been buried there. Popes are typically buried at
Saint Peter's Basilicum, but he specifically wanted to be buried
(03:09):
in the ground with very little decorations and with the
simple inscription of his name, his chosen name, Franciscus. And
I think that's reflective of who he was and what
he thought the pope's role should be what he thought
the church's role should be. He was someone who believed
the church who should serve the poor. Is the name
(03:29):
that he took, Francis his papal name. You know, he
chose that after Francis of Assisi, who was someone who
dedicated his life to the poor. And so I think
that's what we're kind of seeing reflected in you know,
how he's kind of designed his own funeral rights. He
simplified a lot of the funeral rights, and it was
how he lived his life as well. You know, he
didn't believe that none of the church should live in
(03:52):
gilded palaces and guilded basilicas. He thought they should be
kind of more modest, live in a humble manner and
reach out to the poor, reach out to the people,
go out to the people. And so I think we're
going to see that reflected in this whole funeral process.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, he did live a simple life as well, as
simple as you can lead when you're the pope. But
many people have been talking about his legacy. What of
all the things you've heard about his legacy, what rings
true to you?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, you know, I think the fact to me, I
traveled with him a couple of times. I traveled with
him to Portugal for World you Say, which is a
kind of Catholic woodstock, where it was really fun to
travel with the Pope for that because he loved to
be around young people and this is an event that's
held every four years for young members of the Catholic Church,
and it was really fun to see how energized he
(04:42):
was from that and he loved to you know, something
that weighed on him, I think, the future of the church.
And so for him that was a very important event
to think about the future of the church and appealing
to young people and trying to get young people more involved.
And then I traveled with him as well to Asia
for the longest and most ambitious trip of his papacy,
just in the kind of of twenty twenty four. We
went to Indonesia and Papa New Guinea and Timore Leste
(05:04):
and Singapore, and that was him really you know, again
reaching out to people, and that was something he really
believed in, reaching out to the peripheries of the Catholic Church,
the people on the margins. And I think that's something
that will stay with me, just to see how dedicated
he was to that how he was willing to travel
to you know, the ends of the earth to reach
out to the most kind of isolated communities. He didn't
(05:27):
believe that people should should come to him, you know.
He felt that his role as pope was to reach
out to others and to people who live, yeah, on
the margins, on the peripheries of the church, as he
liked to say. So to me, that's that's something that'll
stand out in terms of his legacy.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Very well. Said in As de la Corterrev ABC News
correspondent in Rome. Thanks for your time and as I
know you're busy.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Thank you
Now no the cause of death of Pope Francis and
we have plans now they've all been set for his
funeral on Saturday. Let's get the latest from rome Is
Inez de la Catera, who has covering it for ABC ANDEZ.
Good morning, good morning. What time is it? There? Is
(00:21):
it afternoon for you?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Now it is I'm losing track of time, but it
is twelve twenty three.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, well, good afternoon to you. The cause of death
that was released yesterday, what's the exact cause of death?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, so we did get kind of more information throughout
the day yesterday. He died of a stroke and heart failure,
and we do believe that it was all linked to
his recent health issues. We know he was hospitalized on
February fourteenth. He spent over a month at the hospital.
He's initially hospitalized with from kitas then turned into double pneumonia.
(01:02):
So so you know, we had a hunch that it
was linked to that, and doctors did confirm yesterday that
it was all related. But the exact cause of death was, yeah,
heart failure and stroke.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah. You know, it's odd because he was sick for
so long and he had been had health problems for
a while, and it looks it looked like it was
going to be fatal many times, and he fought through
and he looked great the other day when he when
he addressed the crowd and when he talked to JD. Van.
So even though I think the world knew what was coming,
(01:33):
it was kind of shocking that it happened when he
when it did. Did you feel the same way about it?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Oh? Absolutely, And you know, I was out saying Peter
Square yesterday and we saw kind of people coming in
and paying their respects throughout the day, and I think, yeah,
there was a lot of sorrow, just sadness, people just
mourning his passing, but also lots of surprise because, like
you said, we saw him on Easter Sunday. He did
look frail, you know, and I think what he did
over his Easter blessing, he sounded his voice sounded weak.
(02:04):
But we thought that the fact that he was out
and about was an indication that he was doing better.
The fact that he was released from the hospital was
taken to be a sign that he was doing better.
So there was a lot of yeah, surprise that it
that it came when it did, and a lot of sadness,
and we're going to be seeing you know, over a
billion Catholics now mourning his passing uh for the coming weeks.
(02:28):
This is something that's having, you know, big, a big
impact around the globe.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Like many popes before him, he made his own funeral
plans and they're a little unusual. They're they're not the
common big pomp and circumstance. It's a simpler funeral, isn't it.
Could you give us the details.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yes, it's it's been you know, it's been really interesting
to kind of get those details. They're they're coming in slowly.
But we know, for example, that he wanted a simple coffin.
We also know that so yesterday in his last little testament,
we found out that he wants to be very that
Saint Mary Major. That's unusual, that's you know, just seven
folks have been buried there. Popes are typically buried at
Saint Peter's Basilicum, but he specifically wanted to be buried
(03:09):
in the ground with very little decorations and with the
simple inscription of his name, his chosen name, Franciscus. And
I think that's reflective of who he was and what
he thought the pope's role should be what he thought
the church's role should be. He was someone who believed
the church who should serve the poor. Is the name
(03:29):
that he took, Francis his papal name. You know, he
chose that after Francis of Assisi, who was someone who
dedicated his life to the poor. And so I think
that's what we're kind of seeing reflected in you know,
how he's kind of designed his own funeral rights. He
simplified a lot of the funeral rights, and it was
how he lived his life as well. You know, he
didn't believe that none of the church should live in
(03:52):
gilded palaces and guilded basilicas. He thought they should be
kind of more modest, live in a humble manner and
reach out to the poor, reach out to the people,
go out to the people. And so I think we're
going to see that reflected in this whole funeral process.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, he did live a simple life as well, as
simple as you can lead when you're the pope. But
many people have been talking about his legacy. What of
all the things you've heard about his legacy, what rings
true to you?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, you know, I think the fact to me, I
traveled with him a couple of times. I traveled with
him to Portugal for World you Say, which is a
kind of Catholic woodstock, where it was really fun to
travel with the Pope for that because he loved to
be around young people and this is an event that's
held every four years for young members of the Catholic Church,
and it was really fun to see how energized he
(04:42):
was from that and he loved to you know, something
that weighed on him, I think, the future of the church.
And so for him that was a very important event
to think about the future of the church and appealing
to young people and trying to get young people more involved.
And then I traveled with him as well to Asia
for the longest and most ambitious trip of his papacy,
just in the kind of of twenty twenty four. We
went to Indonesia and Papa New Guinea and Timore Leste
(05:04):
and Singapore, and that was him really you know, again
reaching out to people, and that was something he really
believed in, reaching out to the peripheries of the Catholic Church,
the people on the margins. And I think that's something
that will stay with me, just to see how dedicated
he was to that how he was willing to travel
to you know, the ends of the earth to reach
out to the most kind of isolated communities. He didn't
(05:27):
believe that people should should come to him, you know.
He felt that his role as pope was to reach
out to others and to people who live, yeah, on
the margins, on the peripheries of the church, as he
liked to say. So to me, that's that's something that'll
stand out in terms of his legacy.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Very well. Said in As de la Corterrev ABC News
correspondent in Rome. Thanks for your time and as I
know you're busy.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Thank you
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