Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies on Easter Monday at 88 of stroke and heart failure

Reuters - Dawn - 21/04
His body will be laid in a coffin tonight in the chapel at the Saint Martha residence where he lived.

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 recently survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.

“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 7:35am((10:35 PKT) this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013, surprising many Church watchers who had seen the...
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