Pope Francis at rest – in state at Vatican
Pope Francis died at age of 88. He now lies in state at the Vatican.
The Pope’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST, 08:00 GMT), the Vatican confirms.
The latest update statement from the Vatican says he died of stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure.
This is the view of St. Peter’s Square following the death of Pope Francis. He has returned to the House of the Father.
Pope Francis died at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican news service says. He had been struggling to recover from double pneumonia.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell of the Apostolic Chamber said in a statement: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,” Cardinal Farrell says.
World leaders have been paying tribute, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling him a “man of humility”. Dutch PM Dick Schoof describing him as a “role model for Catholics and non-Catholics alike”.
His death comes a day after he appeared in St Peter’s Square to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers.
Pope Francis
One of the questions many of Pope Francis’s countrymen and women are asking today is why the first Argentinian to head the Catholic Church never visited his home country over his 12 years as pontiff.
It’s a question that has a caused a lot of disappointment throughout the years. Especially as Francis visited four of the five countries that border Argentina.
The answer seems to be that Francis got caught up in a longstanding rift in Argentina between those who support Peronism. This a progressive political movement which stands for the workers – and conservative anti-Peronism, a division which has split the country for decades.
Those on the right accused Francis of being a Peronist, something he denied. He did, however, fight for social justice, something in common with Peronism.
A close friend of the Pope told the BBC he didn’t want a visit of his to be a cause of division.
He also said the Pope did always intend to visit Argentina at some point, perhaps as a final stage of his papacy. Something that, unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do.
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Follow live scenes at the Vatican here https://t.co/tpADZeC4Od early this morning it was announced #PopeFrancis died #Pope #vaticancity #news #ynuktv pic.twitter.com/4fJIZ6YENN
— YourNewsUKtv (@YourNewsUKtv) April 21, 2025
Follow the scenes at the #Vatican following announcment #PopeFrancis had died
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wp.me/p4BB8h-1tQs— yournewsuktv (@yournewsuktv.bsky.social) 21 April 2025 at 13:27
