The Pope's death comes less than 24 hours after he made an appearance at the Vatican's St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday. He came out in a wheelchair and waved from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to cheering crowds, wishing those gathered a "happy Easter".
His traditional Easter address and blessing was read by an aide while he sat, watching. Following the blessing, Pope Francis was driven around the square. As he passed through the crowds, his procession paused a number of times as babies were brought over for him to bless.
Pope Francis' Easter Sunday message was one of peace and "respect for the views of others". An aide read on his behalf:
"There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression."
In his final address, the pontiff remembered the people of Gaza, in particular its Christian population, as the conflict "causes death and destruction" and creates a "deplorable humanitarian situation". He also called growing global antisemitism "worrisome". "What a great thirst for death, for killing we see in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world," he said.
"I express my closeness to the sufferings... for all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people," the message said. "Call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace." The Pope also encouraged all parties involved in the war in Ukraine to "pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace".
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. The eldest of five children, his parents had fled their native Italy to escape the evils of fascism. He enjoyed tango dancing and became a supporter of his local football club, San Lorenzo.
He was lucky to escape with his life after a serious bout of pneumonia, undergoing an operation to remove part of a lung. It would leave him susceptible to infection throughout his life. As an elderly man he also suffered from pain in his right knee, which he described as a "physical humiliation".
The young Bergoglio worked as a nightclub bouncer and floor sweeper, before graduating as a chemist. At a local factory, he worked closely with Esther Ballestrino, who had campaigned against Argentina's military dictatorship. She was tortured, and her body was never found. He became a Jesuit, studied philosophy and taught literature and psychology. Ordained a decade later, he won swift promotion, becoming the Catholic Church's provincial superior for Argentina in 1973.
Francis's papacy heralded
many firsts and, while he never stopped introducing reforms to the
Catholic Church, he remained popular among traditionalists. He
was the first Pope to come from the Americas, or from the southern
hemisphere. Not since Syrian-born Gregory III died in 741 had there been
a non-European Bishop of Rome. He
was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter -
Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.
Pope Francis recently approved plans to make the papal funeral less complex. Pope Francis has opted for a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc. In St Peter's Basilica, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed. Francis will also be the first Pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican. He will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome.
Some 138 Catholic cardinals will vote for Pope Francis’s successor in an election – known as a conclave – which is held in secret inside the Sistine Chapel.
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