Pope Francis, 88, a humble reformer who sought to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and clashed with world leaders over the rights of immigrants, died Easter Monday following a lengthy bout of double pneumonia, the Vatican said.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who oversees the pope's affairs, announced his death from Casa Santa Marta where Francis lived at the Vatican. No cause of death was released.
"Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Farrel said in a statement on Vatican News. "At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father."
The pope's death comes one day after a frail but determined Francis greeted thousands in St. Peter's Square after Easter Mass in his open-air popemobile − and just weeks after an extended hospital stay in which he battled bilateral pneumonia and other health issues.
Twenty-nine children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza in the last two days,...
Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that at least 93 people have been killed in Israeli attacks...
