Pope Francis Dies at 88

Pope Francis, the world’s first latin American pope has died at the age of 88.

The pope who rose from modest means in Argentina to become the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff died Monday at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.

The Vatican announced the pope’s death in a statement on X, a day after Francis appeared in his wheelchair to bless the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow, I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7.35 am, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.” The statement by Cardinal Farrell, camerlengo of the Catholic church, read.

On Easter Sunday, the pope was pictured greeting crowds from the gallery of St Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass with the faithful in his wheelchair, having been suffering from bilateral pneumonia for a while.

Having inherited a Vatican in disarray in 2013 after the stunning resignation of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a standard-bearer of Roman Catholic conservatism, Pope Francis was well known for his efforts to foster inclusion and reform the worldwide church.