Francis, First Latin American Pope, Passes Away at 88

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, has died at 88, the Vatican announced Monday. He died just over a month after his 12th anniversary as pope. He had the ninth longest papacy of the past 200 years.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell confirmed the pope passed away at 7:35 a.m.. He spent 38 days in hospital before he was released on March 23.
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936.
The pontiff, who was Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church, became pope in 2012, after his predecessor Benedict XVI resigned.
The Vatican will now prepare for the conclave to elect his successor, amid ongoing debates about the Church’s future direction. The process for choosing a new pope – conclave – generally takes place between 15 and 20 days after the death of a pontiff.