Pope Francis death news | Live updates: Latin American pontiff dies at 88; tributes pour in

Pope Francis died on Monday, the Vatican announced. He was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was 88. "Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Cardinal Kevin Farrell stated on the Vatican's TV channel. "At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father."

Pope Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man due to persistent lung disease, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital in February for a respiratory crisis that turned into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days in the hospital, the longest period in his 12-year pontificate. The cause of Pope Francis' death has not been revealed.

In his Easter Sunday message, Pope Francis urged people to think freely and to be tolerant. "Happy Easter," shouted the 88-year-old Argentine pope in a feeble voice from his wheelchair on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, to the delight of the audience in the flower-filled square below. He also had a brief encounter with US Vice President JD Vance, which the Vatican termed as "cordial".