The Vatican has officially announced the cause of death of the Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
According to the Vatican Pope Francis died from cerebral stroke and subsequent heart failure.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, who made the announcement, said the pope died on the morning of April 21, 2025, at 7:35 AM local time at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
A death certificate published by the Vatican said the cerebral stroke led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
This comes around 12 hours after the pontiff’s death was first announced.
Francis suffered from a chronic lung disease and had one part of one of his lungs removed as a young man.
Health issues plagued him throughout the latter years of his life and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia.
This led to a 38-day stay in hospital, the longest of his papacy.
However, he emerged on Easter Sunday, a day before his death, to bless thousands in St Peter’s Square
