Pope Francis died this Monday at the age of 88: “This morning at 7:35, the Bishop of Rome returned to the Father's house”

Pope Francis died on Monday morning at the age of 88, the Vatican announced. He had been suffering from serious health problems for several weeks. His last public appearance was on Sunday.
 

“This morning at 7:35, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father's house,” announced Cardinal Kevin Farrell in a statement published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.
 

The Argentine pontiff had been discharged from hospital on March 23 after a 38-day stay with bilateral pneumonia, his fourth and longest hospitalization since the start of the pontificate in 2013.
 

On Sunday, during the Easter celebrations, he had appeared very weak, but was able to take a walk in the papamobile among thousands of worshippers in St. Peter's Square.
 

With his face closed and visibly distressed, he was forced to delegate the reading of his text to a colleague, unable to say more than a few words in a breathless voice.
 

Hip problems, knee pain, operations, respiratory infections: the Pope, who used a wheelchair, was in declining health, but insisted on maintaining a frenetic pace, despite his doctors' warnings. 
  

A constitution provides for a nine-day funeral and a period of 15 to 20 days to organize the conclave, during which the cardinal electors, nearly 80% of whom were chosen by Francis himself, will have the onerous task of electing his successor. In the meantime, Cardinal Kevin Farrell of Ireland will act as interim Cardinal.
 

Francis had revealed in late 2023 that he wished to be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in central Rome, rather than in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica, a first in over three centuries.