Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88, Vatican says

Pope Francis appears on a balcony on the day the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the world) message is delivered, at St. Peter's Square, on Easter Sunday, in the Vatican, April 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.

He was 88, and had survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.