Pope Francis suffered a stroke about an hour after getting out of bed Monday morning and died within minutes — after spending his final days fighting “to the end to be with his people,’’ sources said.
The pontiff had been ailing for several months, battling serious respiratory infections that left him with “a swollen face, almost deformed,’’ according to the Argentinian outlet La Nacion.
But he insisted on soldiering on, including when he visited inmates at a prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, sources told the outlet’s Italian-born Vatican correspondent, Elisabetta Pique.
The Vactican announced the cause of death for Pope Francis (seen Easter Sunday) Monday afternoon. ABACA/Shutterstock
The pontiff was 88 years old. AFP via Getty ImagesAfter the jail visit, Francis was asked by a reporter, “How are you living this Easter?’’ the outlet said.
The frail pope replied, “I live this Easter as I can’’ — speaking “with great effort and difficulty.’’
He did not partake in the papal tradition of humility: washing the feet of 12 people, a re-enactment of what the Bible says Jesus did on Holy Thursday.
Faithful gather for a rosary prayer for the late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Monday April 21, 2025. APHe also skipped presiding over Easter Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, although he did appear on the balcony to give a blessing — and at one point met US Vice President JD Vance.
Read more on the conclave
- Cardinals seal themselves inside Sistine Chapel for conclave as they begin vote for new pope
- Cardinals are actually watching the movie ‘Conclave’ for insight on process of choosing new pope: reports
- Conclave sparks millions of dollars in wagers on next pope — with one contender clearly leading the pack
- Inside cloak-and-dagger conclave to pick next pope — and the rituals that fuel it
Francis awoke around 6 a.m. Monday appearing “reasonably well,’’ sources told Pique, who wrote a 2014 biography on Il Papa called, “Pope Francis: Life and Revolution: A Biography of Jorge Bergoglio.”
But after about an hour, he suffered the stroke, which led to a coma and ultimately “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse,’’ the Vatican announced.
Here's how Pope Francis' successor will be chosen:
Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, head of the Vatican’s health department, revealed the pontiff’s official cause of death and noted that in addition to the cerebral stroke, the 88-year-old pope was suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, which caused episodes of respiratory insufficiency.
Arcangeli also noted that Francis had type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
The pope’s death followed more than two months of being in and out of hospitals in Rome, where he fought respiratory infections and at times required high flows of supplemental oxygen and at least one emergency blood transfusion during his initial 38-day stay at Gemelli Hospital in the Italian capital.
He was initially hospitalized with bronchitis Feb. 14.
