Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at the age of 88, according to the Vatican.
“This morning at 07:35 local time (05:35 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell said in the statement, which was published by the Vatican on its Telegram channel.
The death of the Pontif comes after he appeared at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers who gathered to catch a glimpse of him.
Pope Francis was discharged from hospital last month after five weeks of treatment for an infection that led to double pneumonia.