Pope Francis: tributes paid after head of Catholic church dies aged 88 – newest updates | Pope Francis

Tributes are being paid to Pope Francis after the affirmation of his demise by the Vatican. He was aged 88.

Pope Francis died Monday morning, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, introduced.

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His total life was devoted to the service of the Lord and of his Church,″ Farrell stated within the announcement. “He taught us to reside the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, braveness, and common love, particularly for the poorest and most marginalised.

“With immense gratitude for his instance as a real disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Triune.″

Francis, who suffered from persistent lung illness and had a part of one lung eliminated as a younger man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February for a respiratory disaster that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy.

Pope Francis marked Easter Sunday by blessing hundreds of people that had gathered for mass in St Peter’s Sq. after which embarking on a shock popemobile tour across the piazza on Sunday.

The 88-year-old pontiff didn’t have a good time mass within the sq., delegating the service as an alternative to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.

Francis was recognized with bronchitis in early February, however had continued to carry every day audiences in his Vatican resort suite, and even presided at an outside Mass on Sunday 9 February.

However he had handed over his speeches for an aide to learn aloud, saying he was having bother respiratory.

Francis, who had a part of one lung eliminated at age 21, had lengthy battled well being issues, particularly bouts of acute bronchitis in winter and had used a wheelchair, walker or cane when transferring round his condominium.

The Pope was particularly vulnerable to lung infections resulting from growing pleurisy – an irritation of the skinny outer overlaying of the lung – as an grownup.