Pope Francis passes on aged 88
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died aged 88
There’s palpable shock at the Vatican, where the Pope had addressed crowds at an Easter Sunday service.
Tributes pour in from world leaders, including from King Charles, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and JD Vance, who briefly met the Pope on Sunday
The Vatican confirmed the pontiff died at 07:35 local time on Monday; he was recently discharged from hospital after weeks of treatment for an infection.
The pontiff, who was Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church, became pope in 2013 after his predecessor Benedict XVI resigned.
In recent years, his papacy had been marked by several hospital visits and concerns about his health.
On 14 February, the Pope was admitted to hospital for bronchitis treatment. In the days that followed, the Vatican said he had been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and that he had blood transfusions after tests revealed he had low levels of platelets in his blood, which is associated with anaemia.
On 22 February, it said the Pope was in a critical condition after a “prolonged respiratory crisis” that required a high flow of oxygen, and the next day the Vatican said Francis was showing an “initial, mild” kidney failure.
In the following days, thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray for his recovery, as others went to the Rome hospital where he was staying to leave flowers and cards.
On 6 March, his voice was heard for the first time since being admitted to hospital in an audio message, in which he thanked well-wishers, before adding: “I am with you from here.”
On Sunday, he greeted crowds at the Easter Sunday Service.
His 38-day hospital stay ended on 23 March when he made his first public appearance in five weeks on a balcony at Gemelli where he smiled and gave a thumbs up to the crowds gathered outside.
He returned to the Vatican, making a surprise stop at his favourite basilica on the way home, before beginning two months of prescribed rest and recovery.
Doctors said Francis would have access to supplemental oxygen and 24-hour medical care as needed – adding that while the pneumonia infection had been successfully treated, the pontiff would continue to take oral medication for quite some time to treat the fungal infection in his lungs and continue his respiratory and physical physiotherapy.
BBC with excerpts from Sky News
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