- Vatican says Pope Francis died of stroke and heart failure
The death of Pope Francis will mark a significant break from traditional papal funerals, including how he will become the first pontiff to be buried outside of the Vatican in more than a century.
Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli, in a death certificate released on Monday, said the 88-year-old pontiff, Pope Francis, died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure.
The certificate, which was published by the Vatican, said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death early on Monday.
Pope Francis died of “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, the death certificate said. It added the religious leader died at 7:35 am local (0535 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
Pope Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy, with severe complications in recent weeks following a bout of double pneumonia for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
The death certificate added that Francis also suffered from arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis and Type 2 diabetes, ailments which had not been previously disclosed.
There will now be nine days of official mourning, but the historic process of the conclave, where cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to choose who will be the next pope, will not begin for at least 15 days from today.
Although a papal funeral has traditionally been an elaborate affair, Pope Francis made the decision ahead of his death to approve plans to make it less complex.
While previous pontiffs, including the late Pope Benedict, have been buried in the traditional triple coffins made of cypress, lead and oak, Francis instead chose a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.
The tradition of the Pope’s body being placed on a catafalque inside St Peter’s Basilica for the world to pay its respects has also been scrapped.
Francis’ body will instead remain inside the coffin, with the lid removed, with mourners invited to pay their respects.
The Vatican had released Pope Francis’s spiritual testament – a written statement of faith – in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.
The text specified Pope Francis wanted to be buried “in the ground, without particular decoration” but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
“As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial,” read the testament, which was dated June 29, 2022.
“May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me,” it said.
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Francis will instead be laid to rest in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood, rather than in the grottoes beneath St Peter’s, which houses the tombs of around 90 popes.
The last Pope to be buried outside St Peter’s was Leo XIII (1878-1903) who was interred in the Basilica of St John Lateran, which is the church for the Bishop of Rome.
As a result, 22 other Popes are also buried here while another four are also resting at the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls.
These include Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878), St Zosimus (417-418), St Sixtus III (432-440), St Hilary (461-468) and Damasus II (1037-1048).
Five other Popes are buried at Santa Maria Maggiore and these include Pius V (1566-1572, Sixtus V, (1585-1590), Clement XIII ( 1758-1769), Paul V (1605-1621) and Clement IX (1667-1669).
Meanwhile, the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls houses the tombs of St Felix III (483-492) and John XIII (965-972).
Clement XIV (1769-1774) is buried in the Basilica of the Holy XII Apostles while Benedict XII (1724-1730) rests in the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
A basilica is a church which has special significance or privileges granted by the Pope – and the Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four major ones in Rome.
Francis has made more than a hundred visits to the fifth-century basilica, where he would pray in front of a venerated image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
In his final years, the pontiff appeared to be making plans for his death, consecrating 21 new cardinals, including details for his funeral.
When announcing plans to simplify his funeral, Francis told Mexican broadcaster N+ in 2023: ‘I’ll launch a new ritual.’
The stripping back of the papal funeral procedure is intended to ’emphasise even more that the Roman Pontiff’s funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this world’, according to Monsignor Diego Ravelli, the master of liturgical ceremonies.
It will come as no surprise to those who have followed Pope Francis’ journey since the start of his papacy in March 2013, when he opted against living in the lavish Apostolic Palace and instead moved into a guest house on the Vatican grounds.
He sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the ornate papal apartments used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his ‘psychological health’.
Pope Francis previously presided the funeral of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who died in December 2022 after abdicating.
Benedict’s body lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica from January 2 to January 4 2023, with around 195,000 mourners paying their respects. His funeral was attended by around 50,000 people.
Benedict was among the previous popes to be buried in the traditional triple coffin made of cypress wood, zinc and oak.
It was was unprecedented in modern times for a living pope to bury his predecessor.
Announcing Pope Francis’s death today, Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell said in a statement: ‘At 7.35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.
‘His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.
‘He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalised.
‘With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.’
The Pope emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
He had recently resumed some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia.
He made his first public appearance since his bout of double pneumonia on April 6, when he appeared in St Peter’s Square in a wheelchair during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick following his discharge from the hospital two weeks previously.
