Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, dies aged 88

Pope Francis, the reforming head of the Catholic Church who sought to modernise the pastoral and public priorities of the Vatican, has died at the age of 88.

The Age reports that the Vatican announced the death of the Argentina-born Francis, a ground-breaking and progressive figure yesterday afternoon.

Pope Francis died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure, the Vatican says in a statement.

Hundreds of people have been gathering at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, some crying with others praying and reciting rosaries.

the service in St Peter's Square isn't the only one that has been taking place today.

From Westminster to Warsaw, Mexico City to Kyiv, thousands have gathered to pay their respects.

He was the first pope to be born or raised outside Europe in 12 centuries, the first from the Americas and the first Jesuit to hold the role.

The Vatican announced on February 18 that he had developed pneumonia in both lungs and his condition remained “complex”.

At the time, he had been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14.

In line with centuries-old church protocols, his death was first verified by the camerlengo – the Vatican’s overseer of property and revenues – who ceremonially called out the Pope’s baptismal name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, three times.

Upon receiving no response, he pronounced the Pope dead and informed church staff and the public.

Pope Francis’ death will spark an official nine-day mourning period and weeks of intrigue as to who will succeed him in the role, with more than 140 cardinals to arrive at the Vatican within 15 to 20 days to begin the papal conclave, a secretive election process held to determine a successor.

His burial must take place between four and six days after his death, according to the Universi Dominici Gregis constitution that governs the papal transition, and the church will observe nine days of mourning during the papal interregnum.

While many popes are buried in the crypts beneath St Peter’s Basilica, Francis made it known in December 2023 that he wanted a vastly stripped-back funeral service and to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria.

The funeral Mass is expected to be held in St Peter’s Square.

The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Leo XIII, who died in 1903 and is buried in the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome.

Cardinals will then lock themselves in the Sistine Chapel, disconnected from news media and telephones to block any outside influence, and undertake several rounds of voting until a candidate receives a two-thirds majority.

The process could take days, if not weeks, before the result is announced when white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, Francis’ reign was controversial from the beginning when he was elected to the role following the shock resignation of former pope Benedict – the first pontiff to quit in 600 years.

The pair formed a close bond in the almost 10 years that followed, when there were unusually two popes in the Vatican.

Benedict died on the last day of 2022.

Francis, the 266th pontiff in the church’s 2000-year history, inherited the role at a time of great crisis and difficulty for the church, which had been battered by sexual abuse scandals, mired in financial mismanagement and polarised between conservatives and progressives.

Although he did not change doctrine, he was revolutionary in every other way by almost immediately attacking clericalism, seeking to empower the laity, promoting women to positions of power in the bureaucracy – although not ordaining them priests – and speaking out about climate change.

While he became known for his compassion and kindness, this did not apply to the clergy.

He clashed publicly with the more conservative factions within the church and removed bishops who had not dealt forthrightly with sexual abuse.

He also fought hard to reform the Holy See and Vatican City State, establishing an anti-corruption authority that carried out financial audits of entities belonging to them.