Pope Francis, the first Latin American head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often tumultuous reign marked by divisions and tensions as he sought to reform the conservative institution.
He was 88 years old and had recently survived a serious attack of bilateral pneumonia.
"Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Cardinal Kevin Ferrell announced on Vatican TV.
"At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father."
Pope Francis' death comes a day after he made his first extended public appearance since being released from the hospital on March 23, where he spent 38 days due to pneumonia.
On Easter, the Pope entered St. Peter's Square in an open popemobile shortly after noon, greeting the assembled masses who greeted him with standing ovations.
Then, for the first time since Christmas, he also gave a special blessing.
Pope Francis was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the eldest of five children in a family of Italian immigrants.
Bergoglio found his true calling quite by accident. On his way to celebrate a holiday, he passed by a church and decided to go to confession, when a priest inspired him to join the Church.
As a Jesuit novice, he studied humanities in Santiago, Chile, and officially became a Jesuit in 1960, when he took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. That same year, he earned a degree in philosophy in Buenos Aires, and taught literature and psychology in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires.
During his lifetime, Pope Francis was known for his modesty and simple life, which is one of the reasons why he came to the head of the Catholic Church. Before becoming the head of Catholics, he refused expensive cars and drivers, already traveled by public transport, and said "no" to living in a luxurious episcopal residence.
After Pope Benedict XVI set a precedent by resigning on February 28, 2013, a conclave began in which 115 cardinals voted and elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope, on the second day of the conclave, in the fifth round of voting.
Given his age and health, he was not considered a favorite, so the news surprised many Church members.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013.
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