In his final heartfelt gesture of devotion, Pope Francis, who was substantially aided by his staff, wished everyone a “Happy Easter.”

On Easter Sunday, Francis, who passed away today at the age of 88, pleased the 35,000 worshippers at the Vatican by making an appearance on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

However, when he sat on the balcony and listened to a senior cardinal read out the Easter blessing, the pontiff, looking tired and exhausted, required assistance from his aides.

As the blessing was given, aides were observed assisting Francis drink water through a straw and arranging his papal vestments.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retiring archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said Easter Mass yesterday instead of him in the piazza.

Following an illness that progressed to pneumonia in both lungs earlier this year, Francis was released from the hospital on March 23 under “protected discharge.”

Francis celebrated the highest Catholic holiday on social media just 20 hours before the Vatican announced his death.

“Christ is risen! These words capture the entire meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life,” he tweeted, also sharing his full Urbi et Orbi blessing, which his aide had read aloud at at Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Francis’ final Easter sermon saw him call for an end to the “many conflicts raging in different parts of our world” and pray that “in this Jubilee year, may Easter also be a fitting occasion for the liberation of prisoners of war and political prisoners!”

In his Easter blessing, Francis directly urged “all those in positions of political responsibility”to halt “sowing seeds of death” by using “weapons of peace.”

He criticised the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day”, violence directed at women and children, and the “contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants!”