Vatican – The world reacts to the news that Pope Francis died at the age of 88. The Vatican says that the cause of death was a stroke that put it in a coma and led to heart failure. The first Latin American pontift in history has charmed the world of his humble style and his concern for the poor, but has alienated many conservatives with criticism of capitalism and climate change.
The Pope recently spent 38 days in a hospital for a respiratory crisis in the longest hospitalization of his 12 -year papacy. He appeared for the last time in public on Sunday with an Easter and Popemobile blessing tour through an enthusiastic crowd on Saint-Pierre square.
Associated Press
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Faithful to meet for a prayer of the rosary for the late Pope Francis, on Place Saint-Pierre at the Vatican, Monday April 21, 2025 (AP Photo / Alessandra Tarantino) A man carries a cross on the Place Saint-Pierre to the Vatican after Cardinal Camelengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Alessandra Tarantino) Pakistan – Christians arrive with a portrait of Pope Francis for a prayer ceremony at the cathedral church of the Resurrection, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 21, 2025, following the announcement by the Vatican of the death of Pope Francis. (AP photo / km Chaudary) Argentina: Genali Nogales touches a painting from the deceased Pope Francis at the Basílica de San José de Flores, where he loved it as a young person, after the Vatican announcement of his death in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Gustavo Garello) Lithuania: A photo of the late Pope Francis is exhibited at the Cathedral, after the Vatican announcement of his death in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Mindaugas Kulbis) Rome: The faithful react when they attend a mass for the late Pope Francis, at the Saint-Jean-John basilica, in Rome, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Gregorio Borgia) Brazil: a woman prays to the national sanctuary of Notre-Dame d’Apalecida, following the announcement of the Vatican for the death of Pope Francis, in Aparecida, Brazil, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Andre Penner) Rome: A woman prays outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 12, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana Fabi / AFP) (Photo by Tiziana Fabi / AFP via Getty Images) Vatican: the pilgrims carrying a cross head towards the holy door on the Saint-Pierre square in the Vatican after Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Alessandra Tarantino) Jerusalem -issa Kassissieh touches a photo of the late Pope Francis, whom he placed in the old town of Jerusalem after the news of the pontiff’s death at 88, Monday April 21, 2025. Indonesia: a woman prays during a mass at the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assumption who visited Pope Francis visited in 2024, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Achmad Ibrahim) Brazil: photographed through the door of a confessional, a person begs during the mass in honor of Pope Francis, after the announcement by the Vatican of his death, at the Cathedral of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday April 2125. (AP photo / Eraldo Peres) Argentina: A worshiper cries during the mass at the cathedral of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, after the announcement of the Vatican for the death of Pope Francis, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Natacha Pisarenko) New York: An officer of the New York Police Department (NYPD) installs bruants outside the Saint-Patrick cathedral on Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP photo / yuki iwamura) Gregoria Caceres kneels in front of a portrait of the late Pope Francis in the parish of Caacpe, to which he often visited and preached, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP photo / Natacha Pisarenko) Kenya: the artist Graffiti Alexander Ikawah, painted Pope Francis on a canvas in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday April 21, 2025. London: mourning people say prayers and light candles in front of a portrait of Pope Francis in the cathedral of Westminster, London, Monday, April 21, 2025, following the announcement of the Vatican of the death of Pope Francis. (AP photo / grant alastair) Bethlehem: a store owner places a black ribbon on a photo of the fire Francis after the news of his death at 88, in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Ilan) Vatican: A woman holds a photo of Pope Francis Reading in Italian “Farewell Francis, thank you his holiness, today all people cry for you” on Saint-Pierre square in the Vatican after Cardinal Camelengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday April 2125. (Ap photo / Andrew Medichini) Rome: Photo file of Pope Francis presiding over the Via Crucis procession (Way of the Cross) Torchlight on Good Friday, a Christian feast commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death in Calvary, in front of the Colosseum of Rome, in Rome, Friday April 19, 2019. (AP photo / Andrew Medichini, File).
