Catholic Church head dies aged 88

Pope Francis, the reforming head of the Catholic Church who sought to modernise the pastoral and public priorities of the Vatican, has died at the age of 88.

The Vatican announced the death of the Argentina-born Francis, a ground-breaking and progressive figure, on Monday.

He was the first pope in 12 centuries to be born or raised outside Europe, the first from the Americas and the first Jesuit to hold the role.

Francis, who led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics since 2013, had been in increasingly poor health and physical pain, using a wheelchair or cane for more than a year after undergoing several operations, including major stomach surgery.

The Vatican announced on February 18 that he had developed pneumonia in both lungs and his condition remained “complex”. At the time, he had been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on February 14.

In line with centuries-old church protocols, his death was first verified by the camerlengo – the Vatican’s overseer of property and revenues – who ceremonially called out the pope’s baptismal name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, three times. Upon receiving no response, he pronounced the Pope dead and informed church staff and the public.

Click here to read more from Rob Harris.