POPE FRANCIS DIED FROM STROKE, HEART FAILURE – VATICAN

POPE FRANCIS DIED FROM STROKE, HEART FAILURE – VATICAN

Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, died from a cerebral stroke and subsequent heart failure, the Vatican has announced.

The Vatican officially announced that Pope Francis died on the morning of April 21, 2025, at 7:35 AM local time

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, who made the announcement, said the pope died on Easter Monday at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.

A death certificate published by the Vatican said the cerebral stroke led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

This comes around 12 hours after the pontiff’s death was first announced.

Francis suffered from a chronic lung disease and had one part of one of his lungs removed as a young man.

Health issues plagued him throughout the latter years of his life and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia.

This led to a 38-day stay in hospital, the longest of his papacy.

However, he emerged on Easter Sunday, a day before his death, to bless thousands in St Peter’s Square.