Pope's cause of death revealed as Vatican releases death certificate

Pope Francis died from stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure, the Vatican has announced, around.

The 88 year old, who died on Easter Monday, drew tributes for his strong advocacy for the poor and marginalised. Francis has been remembered as someone full of compassion, mercy and “irrepressible hope” as Catholics came together to mourn the death of a pontiff hailed by the King and other leaders.

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Francis suffered from a chronic lung disease and had one part of one of his lungs removed as a young man. Health issues plagued him throughout the latter years of his life and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia.

The pope died after a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican has now confirmed. He had resumed some official duties earlier this month during his recovery from double pneumonia.

The Vatican statement on the Pope's death read: "I certify that His Holiness Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) born in Buenos Aires () on December 17, 1936, Resident in Vatican City, Vatican Citizen, died at 7:35 am on April 21, 2025 in his apartment at the Domus Santa Marta (Vatican City) due to: stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse."

The Pope made his first public appearance on April 6 since becoming ill, 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. In his final days the Pope remained active, continuing to make phone calls to members of a Catholic parish in Gaza.

In his final years, the Buenos Aires-born appeared to be looking ahead beyond his papacy, consecrating 21 new cardinals in what was regarded by some as a move to secure his legacy. This planning also included details for his funeral, the relative simplicity of which will come as no surprise to those who followed Francis' teachings.

In November 2024, as per Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, it was announced that Pope Francis had revised his funeral rites, simplifying the rituals to emphasise his role as a humble bishop. Outlining these new reforms, master of liturgical ceremonies, Monsignor Diego Ravelli, explained that the Vatican would be eliminating the usual requirement that the pope's body be placed on an elevated bier in St. Peter’s Basilica to be viewed by members of the public.

Instead, Pope Francis' body will be placed in view at the Basilica in a simple coffin, where dignitaries and some of the faithful may pay their final respects. The burial itself will no longer require the three coffins crafted of cypress, lead, and oak, as is the papal tradition. According to Ravelli, this stripping back of more elaborate customs is intended “to emphasise even more that the Roman Pontiff’s funeral is that of a shepherd and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful man of this .”

And in a notable break from tradition, while Pope Francis' funeral will take place in St Peter’s Square, he won't be buried in the grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, where the majority of his predecessors lie. Instead, Francis will be laid to rest at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, signifying his devotion to an icon of the Virgin Mary that can be found there - the holy Salus populi Romani (Salvation of the people of Rome).

The leader of the world’s Roman Catholics was described by the King, whom he met in recent weeks, as someone who had “profoundly touched the lives of so many”.

Prime Minister Sir said Francis had been “a Pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten”. At a mass in London in the Pope’s honour on Monday evening, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales said while there is a “sadness of loss”, there remains a “confidence of faith and hope”.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols told worshippers at Westminster Cathedral: “We know a voice has fallen silent, a voice that’s been heard in every corner of the world, a voice of warm encouragement and sharp challenge, expressing both the love of God and a deep love of our shared humanity.

“This voice is silent, for a more authoritative voice has spoken – that of his heavenly father, calling him home to be with his lord and master forever.” Francis had resumed some official duties earlier this month during his recovery from double pneumonia.

He had spent some time privately with Charles and Camilla on April 9 during their recent trip to Italy, and on Easter Sunday he briefly met Catholic US Vice President JD Vance.

Charles said he and Camilla were “most deeply saddened” to learn of the Pope’s death and “were greatly moved to have been able to visit him” so recently. In a statement on Monday, Charles said: “Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.

“The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month.” Cardinal Nichols said the words mercy and hope had defined Pope Francis’s vocation in the priesthood.

He told those at Westminster Cathedral for the evening requiem mass: “His voice so often called us not to optimism, but to renewed effort to protect those who were without hope, who could see no way forward. He was sharply critical of all who ignored the wellbeing of so many and held them to be of no significance in their calculations and actions.

“Constantly, he spoke for those on the margins of society, challenging us with words such as these, ‘if you want to know how successful your economy is, then go and speak to an unemployed person’. And of those imprisoned in slavery, those suffering other terrible forms of abuse, he said ‘These are gaping wounds in the flesh of humanity, wounds in the flesh of Christ Himself’.

“He was filled with compassion, mercy, righteous indignation and irrepressible hope, for which we thank God.” Cardinal Nichols is among those expected to travel to Rome in the coming days as a period of mourning gets under way ahead of the Pope’s funeral and the conclave meeting to elect his successor.

There are currently five cardinals across the UK and Ireland, although only three – Cardinal Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche – who are younger than 80 and therefore of voting age.

Outside of the Catholic Church, the leaders of other religions also paid tribute to Francis. The Church of England’s current most senior bishop Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell described the Pope as having been “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.” Former archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the Pope had been a friend, adding that he will “miss him deeply”.

Mr Welby said the Pope had become someone who “spoke not just to the Catholic Church, but far beyond it”, and that his leadership had been “felt powerfully among us in the Anglican Communion”.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said it was a “moment of great sadness for our Catholic friends” as he offered “comfort and strength in the coming weeks, as the Catholic Church begins a new chapter”.