Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke that put him into a coma, leading to heart failure, the Vatican has announced.
The death was confirmed by Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the head of the Vatican’s health department.
The Pope had been hospitalized for five weeks beginning in February for treatment of a respiratory tract infection. Four days after his hospitalization, Francis was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Francis’ death certificate, released by the Vatican, said he died in his apartment at 7:35 a.m. from cerebral stroke, coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse, and noted that he also had been affected by a “previous episode of acute respiratory failure in bilateral multimicrobial pneumonia, multiple bronchiectasis, arterial hypertension and type II diabetes.”
The Vatican also announced that, in keeping with the Pope’s will, Francis will be buried in a simple underground tomb in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major near an icon of the Virgin Mary that was a favorite of the Pope. The tomb will be engraved with only the name “Franciscus.”
