Pope Francis Died Of Stroke, Heart Failure; Wished To Be Buried Outside Vatican

Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday due to a stroke followed by irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said in a statement.

Pope Francis expressed his wish to be buried outside the Vatican, in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major, without elaborate decorations.

Source : PTI

Pope Francis, who breathed his last on Easter Monday, died of a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said in a statement.

The death certificate released for the 88-year-old pontiff stated that the Pope had fallen into a coma before his death on Monday morning, reported AlJazeera. 

Francis died of “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli stated in the death certificate. It further mentioned that he died at 7:35 am local time (11:05 am IST) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. 

Following the pope's death, crowds of mourners assembled at Vatican City's St Peter's Square for a rosary prayer, and several masses were held around the world to pay tribute to the Pope.

Nations Pay Tribute

US President Donald Trump joined the world leaders in mourning the demise of Pope Francis and announced that he had signed an executive order ordering all flags to be flown at half mast in honour of the pontiff. 

"He was a good man," Trump said. "He worked and loved the world."

India has also announced a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect on the passing away of Pope Francis.

According to the schedule announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, two days of state mourning will be on April 22 (Tuesday) and April 23 (Wednesday). Additionally, one day's state mourning will be on the day of the funeral. 

During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country on all buildings where the national flag is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment, the MHA said in the statement.

Pope To Be Buried Outside Vatican

In his final testament, the first Latin American pontiff confirmed that he had wished to be buried out of the Vatican, in Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major and "without particular decoration", reported BBC. 

In doing so, he will become the first pontiff to be buried away from the Vatican City in more than a century.

Many pontiffs have been buried at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. He also requested that the resting place bear the inscription of his papal name in Latin, 'Francisus'. 

As part of the process after the demise of the Pope, his official residence was sealed at the Vatican on Monday evening.  A cardinal, known in this case as a camerlengo, locks and seals the Pope's personal residence with a red ribbon and covers it in wax.

Earlier, this was in an apartment in the Apostolic Palace. However, Francis lived in a small suite in the Vatican guesthouse known as Santa Marta.