Pope Francis died of cerebral stroke and heart failure: Vatican doctor

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Pope Francis died of cerebral stroke and heart failure: Vatican doctor

Vatican publishes death certificate, Pope’s request to be buried at Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

A man holds a copy of a special edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano announcing the death of the Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square, the Vatican [Andreas Solaro/AFP]

Published On 21 Apr 202521 Apr 2025

Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli has said in a death certificate.

The certificate released on Monday for the 88-year-old pontiff said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death earlier in the day.

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Pope Francis died of “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, the death certificate said. It added the religious leader diead at 7:35am local (0535 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.

Pope Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy, with severe complications in recent weeks following a bout of double pneumonia for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

The death certificate added that Francis also suffered from arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis and Type 2 diabetes, ailments which had not been previously disclosed.

The Vatican also released Pope Francis’s spiritual testament – a written statement of faith – in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.

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The text specified Pope Francis wanted to be buried “in the ground, without particular decoration” but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

“As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial,” read the testament, which was dated June 29, 2022.

“May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me,” it said.

Source: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera and news agencies