Pope Francis has died, a senior Vatican official has said.
Camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell said in a statement on Monday: “At 7.35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalised.
“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.″
The 88-year-old Pope emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
He had recently resumed some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia.
He made his first public appearance since his bout of double pneumonia on April 6, when he appeared in St Peter’s Square in a wheelchair during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick following his discharge from hospital two weeks previously.
The King and Queen visited the pontiff at the Vatican on April 9, the day Charles and Camilla celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell paid tribute to Francis, whom he described as “witty, lively, good to be with”.
He said in a statement: “Pope Francis was acutely aware of the divisions between our churches and how they stand in the way of seeing Jesus Christ more fully.
“I remember the powerful work the Pope did with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland in promoting peacebuilding in South Sudan.
“He was a listening Pope whose commitment to the principle and the process of synodality will be a permanent legacy to the Roman Catholic Church and to all of us.
“I remember, in the brief times I spent with him, how this holy man of God was also very human. He was witty, lively, good to be with, and the warmth of his personality and interest in others shone out from him.
“May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”
