Pope Francis dies at age 88: Vatican

Vatican City: Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said on Monday (Apr 21), ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.

He was 88, and had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he had been driven around St Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday.

“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.

“At 7.35 (0535 GMT) this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”

Farrell will preside over a rite at eight pm (1800 GMT) on Monday when the pope’s body will be placed into a casket. A spokesman said his body might be moved to St Peter’s Basilica as early as Wednesday morning to allow the faithful to pay their respects. No date has been set for the funeral.

Francis had on Sunday made his first prolonged public appearance since being discharged on Mar 23 from a 38-day hospital stay for pneumonia.

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In an Easter Sunday message read aloud by an aide as the Pope looked on from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff had reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

At the Vatican, locals, tourists and pilgrims visiting for Easter expressed their shock and grief.

“This is something that really hits you hard,” said Emanuela Tinari, from Rome. “He was a pope who brought so many people closer to the church. He was not appreciated by everyone. But he definitely was by ordinary people.”