By Joshua McElwee and Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he sought to overhaul an ancient and divided institution.
He was 88, and had suffered double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he appeared in St. Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday, suggesting his convalescence was going well.
“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.”
Francis died of a stroke and irreversible cardiovascular arrest, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in the death certificate, which was released by the Vatican. It added that the pope had fallen into a coma before he died.
Besides his recent lung infection, Arcangeli said Francis had also suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes.
A Vatican spokesman said the pope’s coffin might be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica as early as Wednesday morning to allow the faithful to pay their respects.
No date has yet been given for the funeral, but the Vatican said it would normally be expected to take place sometime between Friday and Sunday. A group of cardinals were due to meet on Tuesday to discuss plans.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would attend the ceremony, which was expected to draw dozens of other world leaders to Rome. Meanwhile, Francis’ native Argentina ordered seven days of mourning, as did neighbouring Brazil.
“The pope of the poor has left us, the pope of the marginalised,” said Jorge Garcia Cuerva, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, a position Francis once held.
Francis had on Sunday made his first prolonged public appearance since being discharged from hospital on March 23 following a 38-day stay for pneumonia, occasionally waving to onlookers and greeting a child who was brought to his side.
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 – a conflict he had long railed against.
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.”
FINAL MEETINGS
Doctors had prescribed two months of rest when the pope left hospital last month but he appeared on a number of occasions. Francis met Britain’s King Charles in April and had a brief meeting on Sunday with visiting U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
World leaders praised his efforts to reform the worldwide Church and offered condolences to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
“He was a good man, worked hard. He loved the world,” said Trump, whom the pope had criticised in the past, especially for his hardline on immigration.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mourned the departure of “a great man, a great shepherd”.
The outspoken president of Argentina, Javier Milei, had clashed with the pope in the past, branding him at one point the devil’s representative on earth. But he changed his tune after taking office in 2023 and mourned his death on Monday.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me,” Milei said on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Francis as an outstanding man, the Kremlin said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he knew how to foster unity and give hope.
Many global leaders were expected to attend his funeral. In a break from tradition, Francis confirmed in his final testament released on Monday that he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not St. Peter’s Basilica.
FUTURE CONCLAVE
A conclave to elect a new pope normally takes place between 15 and 20 days after the death of a pontiff. Some 135 cardinals are eligible to take part in the highly secretive ballot which can stretch over days. At present there is no clear frontrunner to succeed Francis.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine cleric’s election as pope on March 13, 2013, surprised many observers who had seen him as an outsider.
He sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the ornate papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his “psychological health”.
He initiated changes within the Vatican, emphasising transparency, accountability and financial reform, and appointed more women to senior posts in its hierarchy. However, Francis was also viewed as a haphazard leader, often blindsiding Vatican officials with his off-the-cuff comments.
He struggled to get a grip on the Church’s crisis over sexual abuse by clerics. He inherited a Church torn by infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy, and was elected with a clear mandate to restore order.
But as his papacy progressed, he faced criticism from conservatives, who accused him of trashing cherished traditions. He also drew the ire of progressives, who felt he should have done much more to reshape the 2,000-year-old Church.
While he battled with internal dissent, Francis became a global superstar, drawing huge crowds on his many foreign travels as he tirelessly promoted interfaith dialogue and peace, taking the side of the marginalised, such as migrants.
Unique in modern times, there were two men wearing white in the Vatican for much of Francis’ rule, with his predecessor Benedict opting to continue to live in the Holy See after his shock resignation in 2013. Benedict, a hero of the conservative cause, died in December 2022.
Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope, increasing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies, despite the strong pushback from traditionalists.
The Vatican said a ceremony planned for Sunday, April 27, when Carlo Acutis was to become the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, had been postponed.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini and Giulia Segreti; Writing by Keith Weir and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Ros Russell and Cynthia Osterman)
