Source: Reuters
[1/10]Newly elected Pope Francis appears at the window of his future private apartment to bless the faithful, gathered below in St. Peter’s Square, during the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) – Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.
He was 88, and had survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.
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“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 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
Francis’ death comes a day after the pope had made his first prolonged public appearance since being discharged on March 23 from a 38-day hospital stay for pneumonia.
On Sunday, Easter day, Francis had entered St. Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile shortly after mid-day, greeting cheering crowds. He had also offered a special blessing for the first time since Christmas.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013, surprising many church watchers who had seen the Argentine cleric, known for his concern for the poor, as an outsider.