Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies after stroke and cardiac arrest

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he sought to overhaul an ancient and divided institution.

He was 88, and had suffered double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he appeared in St. Peter’s Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday, suggesting his convalescence was going well.

“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.

“At 7:35 (0535 GMT) this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”

Francis died of a stroke and irreversible cardiovascular arrest, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli said in the death certificate, which was released by the Vatican.