Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, has died at the age of 88 after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest.
His death on Monday at 9:47 am (5:47 pm AEST) at his apartment in Rome was announced in a statement from the Vatican.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell said in the statement.
“At 7.35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was devoted to service to the Lord and His Church.”
Although he had suffered double pneumonia this year and was recently hospitalised for five weeks, the Pope’s death came only a day after he appeared in St. Peter's Square in an open-air vehicle to greet crowds on Easter Sunday and after he briefly met visiting U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.
Pope Francis fell into a coma before he died of a stroke and irreversible cardiovascular arrest, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said on the death certificate.
His death triggers a nine-day mourning period known as the "novemdiales" in the Catholic Church, with a funeral expected to be held between Friday and Sunday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, diverging from the tradition of burial in St. Peter's Basilica at the request of Pope Francis.
A conclave in which 135 cardinals are eligible to vote on a new pope is expected to occur between 15 and 20 days after his death, amid media reports that there is no obvious successor to Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The first Jesuit pope, first Latin American pope and 266th pope, his papacy starting in 2013 was marked by a focus on humility, social justice, and outreach to marginalised communities.
News of his death prompted an outpouring of tributes, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni describing him as "a great man, a great shepherd".
United States President Donald Trump, whom the late Pope had criticised for his stance on immigration, said: “He was a good man, worked hard. He loved the world.”
Argentina President Javier Milei, who once called him the devil's representative on earth, said on X: "Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me.”
