Pope Francis, an Astrological Obituary

At 7:35 AM CEST on Monday, 21 April 2025, Pope Francis passed away, apparently from a stroke, in his apartment at the St Martha House in Vatican City.  The notoriously down-to-earth pontiff eschewed the luxurious papal penthouse in the Apostolic Palace, preferring the humbler surroundings of the Vatican’s adjacent guest house.  Francis had recently battled bilateral pneumonia and other respiratory complaints during a weeks-long hospital stay, but returned to the Vatican a month ago, where he resumed some of his papal duties.  On the day before his death, Francis went out to greet the Easter Sunday crowds in St Peter’s Square, also meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, so, although he was still in ill health, his passing just hours later was unexpected. 

Not so for the cosmos, however, which showcased a precise triple conjunction of the Moon, Pluto and the MC, all at 3 Aquarius, at the hour of his death.  The Moon is general heath, Pluto is the modern lord of death, and the MC is the point of highest elevation in the chart, the focus of all eyes.  This remarkable combination suggests a health-related (Moon, as opposed to an accident or homicide) demise (Pluto) which garners wide attention (MC).  A square from this grouping to the Sun at 1 Taurus, representing the life force, conjoined asteroid Francis 2050 at 29 Aries, points to whose life force in particular was in the balance.  Moreover, the Sun was exactly conjoined Francis’ natal asteroid Francis and his own MC, at 0 Taurus (so the Pope was enjoying his “Francis Return”).  The MC is the start of the Tenth House, ruling career, and also represents status or place in the world, so it’s no shock to find that the Pope chose Francis as his regnal name as he reached the apotheosis of his career.  Francis is also embedded at station in the natal chart, making the name of pivotal importance in the pontiff’s biography.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio at 9 PM ADT on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Rodden Rating AA), the future pope would be the first Jesuit elected to the office, and the first born in Latin America (or, indeed, the Western hemisphere).  Spiritual father to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Francis’ lifelong ministry focused on the poor and needy, urging inclusivity and nonjudgment for society’s outcasts.  Pope Francis talked a good game in this regard, refusing to reject homosexuals, among others marginalized by the Church, but in practical terms he did very little to improve the lot of gay clergy, and continued to resist major reforms such as the ordination of women.  He was, however, a powerful voice for the fair treatment of immigrants, and the threats posed by climate change.

His lifepath is plainly laid out from birth, with an astounding exact triple conjunction of natal asteroids Bishop 2633, Roma 472 and Pappos 29448 at 18 Scorpio squared by Saturn at 12 Aquarius.  Pappos is cognate to Papa, Italian for “pope,” and as Pope, Francis was also the Bishop of Rome (Roma in Italian), so this papal destiny seems locked into his career (Saturn) arc.  The Moon joins the pattern from 12 Aquarius, and a T-Square is formed with asteroids Shepherd 23060 and Poor 13227 at 12 and 14 Taurus.  This defines Francis’ pastoral stance (Shepherd) and concern for the common people (Moon) and the financially disadvantaged (Poor).  The Moon squared Pappos also reflects his moniker of “The People’s Pope.”  There is another point aligned with the career stellium:  asteroid Santa 1288 at 21 Scorpio, feminine Italian form of “saint.”  I would not be at all surprised to find a strong movement for canonization and sainthood for Francis in the not-so-distant future.

Another precise pairing of Pluto and asteroid Vaticana 416 at 28 Cancer shows the potential for Francis ultimately wielding the immense power (Pluto) of the Catholic Church (Vaticana, named for the hill upon which the Vatican is built).  But this union also prefigures his death (Pluto) in the Vatican (Vaticana), a potential realized by very few.  A square from natal Francis shows the personal connection to these inherent potentialities, heightened by a sesquiquadrate to asteroid George 3854 at 11 Sagittarius (English version of the Spanish Jorge, his given first name).

Asteroid George was also very active at the time of the Pope’s election on 13 March 2013, when he was still known as Jorge, participating in a Grand Cross dominated by a conjunction of Jupiter at 9 Gemini and asteroid Pappos at 2 Gemini.  Jupiter rules religion and the clergy generally, while Pappos specifies the ecclesiastic in question.  This pairing opposes asteroid Cardinal 325973 at 7 Sagittarius, suggesting the College of Cardinals which meets in conclave to elect the new pope, and squares asteroid Victoria 12 at 7 Virgo, named for the Roman goddess of victory, indicating a successful result (supported also by Jupiter, the so-called “Greater Benefic,” known for providing positive outcomes).  But the juice of the pattern lies in a Pisces stellium of Neptune (spirituality) at 3, Mercury (elections and voting) at 6, asteroid Church 10343 at 7, and asteroids Nike (Greek goddess of victory) and George, both at 9 Pisces. 

The preponderance of religion and clergy-related energies (Jupiter, Neptune, Church, Cardinal, Pappos) in connection with an electoral process (Mercury) and referents for the deciding body (Cardinal) and the successful (Nike, Victoria) candidate (George/Jorge) is truly stunning to behold, in a chart for the election of a Pope.  Asteroid Francis has a part to play as well; at 22 Scorpio, Francis is trine the 23 Pisces Sun, highlighting the future Pope’s name choice, and aligned with Bergoglio’s natal Bishop/Roma/Pappos stellium, uniting his potential for that office with the name he would use to fulfill it.  Lying roughly midway between Francis and the Sun is asteroid Vaticana at 20 Capricorn, sextile to each, further defining filling the papacy as the issue at hand.

There were several celestial factors that softened the ground before his death, preparing Francis for his mortality.  In principal, the Lunar Eclipse of 14 March 2025 at 23 Virgo squared his natal Sun at 25 Sagittarius, symbol of the life force and vital essence.  And the subsequent Solar Eclipse of 29 March at 9 Aries squared the 10 Cancer Ascendant, governing our public image, how others see us.  Both connections show potential for major life-changing events, including death, but the Solar Eclipse also formed a Grand Cross with two death indicators, asteroid Osiris 1923 (Egyptian god of the dead) at 7 Capricorn, and asteroid Rip 7711 (“RIP”) at 8 Libra.

When Pope Francis passed away on 21 April, there were multiple indications of the event, in addition to the Moon/Pluto/MC squared Sun/Francis profiled above.  A highly descriptive cluster of points in Gemini includes Jupiter (religion, clergy) at 19, with asteroids Christian 192158 at 20, Bishop at 25, and Vaticana at 28 Gemini.  This describes a high-ranking (Bishop) member of the Christian (Christian) clergy (Jupiter) at the Vatican (Vaticana). 

This grouping lies on the fulcrum of a T-Square with Saturn, ancient lord of death, at 26 Pisces, opposed a pairing of asteroids Pappos and Martha 205 at 21 and 26 Virgo.  Pappos of course signals “pope,” while his passing occurred in the St Martha House.  (Natal asteroid House 4950 at 10 Capricorn conjoins Osiris, suggesting a death at home, and was also activated by the Solar Eclipse.)  This T-Square becomes a Grand Cross with the inclusion of the natal Sun at 25 Sagittarius.

On a more intimate level, asteroid George at 2 Sagittarius opposes a conjunction of asteroids House and Shepherd at 4 and 7 Gemini, alluding to his place of death as well as his pastoral role.  This polarity forms a T-Square with Damocles 5335 at 6 Pisces, the doom or peril hanging unseen overhead, about to descend at any moment.  With George is asteroid Santa at 28 Scorpio, another indication that sainthood might be in the Pope’s future.

As well, asteroid Francis at 29 Aries conjoins asteroid Anubis 1912 (Egyptian deity governing funerary rites), in a T-Square with asteroids Roma at 27 Cancer and Rip at 21 Capricorn.  This combines the Pope (Francis) with two additional death indicators (Anubis, Rip) and the city where he died (Roma).

Asteroid Vaticana at 28 Gemini further conjoins asteroid Requiem 2254 at 4 Cancer, named for the funeral mass for the dead, while asteroid Cardinal (the Pope’s prior job title) at 12 Cancer conjoins not only Requiem, but also asteroids Lachesis 120 (mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life) at 7 Cancer and Libitina 2546 (Roman goddess of burials) at 19 Cancer, squaring asteroid Osiris at 11 Aries for good measure.  This points to the death (Requiem, Lachesis, Libitina, Osiris) of a Prince of the Church (Cardinal).  The death of a religious figure generally is portrayed by a T-Square with asteroid Church at 19 Taurus on its fulcrum, squared asteroids Atropos 273 (Fate who severs the thread of life at death) at 16 Leo and Graves 18824 at 18 Aquarius.

Connections from the transit sky to natal death indicators include:

Pope Francis will be buried, not in the Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican, with most of his predecessors, but in a humble tomb in Rome, more accessible to the public, at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a final break from tradition for the unconventional pontiff.  In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried “in the earth, simple, without particular decoration” and with the inscription only of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

The skies at his burial will contain a Yod, AKA “Finger of Destiny,” a fated pattern.  With asteroid George at 0 Sagittarius on its Apex, conjoined asteroid Santa (for the Santa Maria Maggiore location) at 27 Scorpio, inconjunct to asteroid Francis at 1 Taurus (conjunct Anubis – funerary rites – at 25 Aries) and asteroid Requiem (funeral mass for the dead) at 6 Cancer.  Francis is still within orb of the spotlighting Sun at 6 Taurus for one last moment in the limelight.  A second Yod describes the burial site itself, with asteroid Maria 170 (for Santa Maria Maggiore) at 20 Sagittarius (also conjunct Francis’ natal Sun) sextile to asteroid Graves at 21 Aquarius (conjunct natal Saturn), both inconjunct asteroid Libitina (burials) at 21 Cancer on the Apex (conjunct natal Pluto/Vaticana).

The College of Cardinals will go into conclave in seclusion in the Sistine Chapel a few weeks after the funeral, to choose the new pope (likely to commence sometime between May 6 and 12, by Church law).  There has been much speculation that a person of color may be chosen, in honor of Pope Francis’ inclusivity and breaking of traditions. 

This seems to me highly probable, with asteroids Brown 1643 and Black 11207 at 21 and 22 Sagittarius in square to a stationary asteroid Pappos at 20 Virgo, which turns direct during that conclave window, on May 11^th.  As well, asteroid Chaple 11831 (phonetic match for “chapel”, with the Sistine Chapel the conclave’s venue) at 23 Virgo is also at station (turning direct on the 9^th), and conjunct Pappos.  Having both Pappos and Chaple at critical, pivotal moments in their cycles argues for a momentous decision indeed.  And with Brown and Black conjoined Francis’ natal Sun, and Pappos squared it, this could be his most lasting legacy.

Alex Miller

Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .