Pope Francis has passed away, the Vatican has announced in a video statement.
The first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church died at the age of 88 at 7:35am (05:35 GMT) on Monday, said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in a statement published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.
Francis had suffered various ailments in his 12-year papacy, with severe complications in recent weeks after a bout of double pneumonia for which he spent five weeks in hospital.
His death comes one day after a brief appearance before thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s open-air Easter Sunday mass.
This is a developing story, more details to follow…
Source: Al Jazeera
