Muhamad Yehia.. Cairo
- Cause of death: The Vatican says Pope Francis died of a stroke that put him into a coma and led to heart failure. The death
- was confirmed Monday by Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the head of the Vatican’s health department. Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was hospitalized for 38 days earlier this year following a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia.
- The next pope is still to be decided: The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals. Eligible cardinals will eventually vote for a papal successor in the Sistine Chapel in a process known as “the Conclave.”
- Francis charmed some and alienated others: The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio brought a breath of fresh air into a 2,000-year-old institution that had seen its influence wane during the troubled tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election. But Francis soon invited troubles of his own, and conservatives grew increasingly upset with his progressive bent, outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and crackdown on traditionalists.
?Where did the pope live
As Catholic leaders sealed the pope’s formal apartment, it wasn’t immediately clear if they also closed off Francis’ other apartment in the Domus Santa Marta.
Following his 2013 election, Francis chose to live there — rather than the Apostolic Palace — taking up residence in a two-room suite on the second floor. The hotel is for visiting priests and guests, as well as a residence for some priests who work at the Vatican.
It wasn’t clear if those rooms, and others on the second floor of the hotel would be available to other cardinals who will have to be sequestered there for the conclave to elect Francis’ successor.