Pope Francis' Christmas Speech Highlighted by False Death Flub

A report on Pope Francis Saturday by ITV news left many a little confused and one anchor slipping to fix their mistake. The Catholic Church head's Christmas day speech was the focus of the story reported by broadcaster Kylie Pentelow. Then by the end of the report, she had said Pope Francis dead.

Pentelow quickly caught herself and corrected the error, still it is a moment that typically doesn't happen since death reports are normally well confirmed before any announcement. That said, Pope Francis joins former Bond Girl and That '70s Show star Tanya Roberts as famous names erroneously reported as passed in 2021.

ITV news accidentally announce The Pope's death pic.twitter.com/ZMHBcuYQcE

— UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) December 25, 2021

Despite this TV flub dropping on Christmas, Pope Francis' message was one of hope in reference to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The globe is currently dealing with the omicron variant of COVID-19 and it seems to be spreading rapidly at the worst possible time. His speech in St. Peter's Square concerned victims of the pandemic and the hopeful end to the pandemic. He also took time to push for access to vaccines globally.

"Open hearts to ensure that necessary medical care – and vaccines in particular – are provided to those peoples who need them most," Pope Francis said. He also discussed several common topics addressed in past years.

How could that have even happened??

— GameRoof (@jackson_dam) December 25, 2021

"Even as the message of the birth of the Savior, the source of true peace, resounds in our hearts and in the whole world, we continue to witness a great number of conflicts, crises and disagreements," Pope Francis said. "These never seem to end, by now we hardly even notice them. We have become so used to them that immense tragedies are now being passed over in silence. We risk not hearing the cry of pain and distress of so many of our brothers and sisters."

While this year's prayer did come from the traditional balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, though crowds were still thin while being up from 50 the year prior due to Italy's lockdown due to the pandemic.