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. Francis had come close to dying twice earlier this year while suffering from pneumonia. He spent 38 days in hospital before he was released on March 23.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, became pope in 2013.

The Vatican will now prepare for the conclave to elect his successor, amid ongoing debates about the Church’s future direction.