Pope Francis Dies at 88 After 12-Year Papacy

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at the age of 88. The Vatican announced his death in a video statement released on its Telegram channel, Al Jazeera reports.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell confirmed the news, stating that the Pope passed away at 7:35 am (05:35 GMT) on Monday morning.

Francis, who led the Church for 12 years, had been battling various health issues throughout his papacy. Recent weeks saw a severe decline in his health following a bout of double pneumonia, which required a five-week hospital stay.

His death comes just a day after he made a brief appearance before thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s Easter Sunday mass.