Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis has died. Francis died at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced. In a post on the social media platform X, the Vatican said the pontiff died in his residence.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis was elected pope on March 13, 2013, becoming the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
He had recently survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
“At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.
Francis’s death came just a day after he delighted the crowds of worshippers at the Vatican on Easter Sunday with an appearance on the balcony at Saint Peter’s Basilica despite still convalescing after a severe illness.
Francis had come close to dying twice earlier this year while suffering from pneumonia.
He spent 38 days in hospital before he was released on March 23.
On Sunday he wished the crowds on Saint Peter’s Square a “Happy Easter” as he waved and in his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) benediction he called for freedom of thought and tolerance.