Pope Francis has died, the Vatican says

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday (Apr 21) at the age of 88.

The Vatican announced his death on Monday, stating that the pope had died at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.

“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 7.35am this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.” 

The Argentine pontiff had been recovering at the Santa Marta guesthouse. He was hospitalised for five weeks earlier this year with life-threatening pneumonia. While in hospital, he almost died twice.

The double pneumonia damaged his lungs and strained his respiratory muscles, doctors said. After being discharged on Mar 23, he returned to the Vatican for a convalescence of at least two months. 

In early April, the Vatican said a chest X-ray confirmed a “slight improvement” in Pope Francis’ lungs and improvements were also reported in his motor skills, voice and breathing. 

Although he had continued to use oxygen through a cannula, the pope had been able to remove it for short periods. 

The pope had issued statements, including one on Mar 16, acknowledging his fragile health. 

“I am sharing these thoughts with you while I am facing a period of trial, and I join with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: Fragile, at this time, like me,” he wrote. 

“Our bodies are weak but, even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope.”

On the day he left the Gemelli, he appeared in a wheelchair on a hospital balcony, waving his hands from his lap to the hundreds of pilgrims gathered below to greet him.

He spoke a few words in a weak voice, saying through a microphone: “Thank you, everyone.”

Pope Francis became head of the Catholic Church in March 2013. He is the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Roman Catholics worldwide.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian immigrants from Argentina, he was the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church.

Despite several health troubles, he remained an active pontiff, with a busy weekly schedule and regular overseas trips.

In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, including Singapore, the longest of his papacy by duration and distance.

Source: Agencies