VATICAN CITY, Apr 22: Pope Francis died of a stroke, the Vatican announced hours after the death on Monday of the 88-year-old reformer who inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during 12 years leading the Catholic Church.
The Argentine pontiff died at his Santa Marta residence in the Vatican almost a month after leaving hospital following five weeks battling double pneumonia.
One day after he greeted Easter crowds in St Peter's Square, mourners gathered in the plaza, many in tears, to mark his passing.
"He's actually returned to the Lord -- and godspeed," Italian Cesarina Cireddu told AFP.
World leaders from US President Donald Trump to Russian leader Vladimir Putin paid tribute to the pope's moral and spiritual leadership. Prayers were held around the world and Trump was among the first leaders to announce that they would attend the pope's funeral.
Trump -- who drew the ire of Francis with his mass deportations of migrants -- wrote "Rest in Peace" in a social media post and ordered flags to be flown at half mast.
According to the death certificate released by the Vatican, Francis died of a stroke, causing a coma and "irreversible" heart failure.
It also revealed he had Type 2 diabetes, which was not previously known.
In his will, also released by the Vatican, the pope wrote that he felt that "the sunset of my earthly life is approaching".
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican official known as the Camerlengo and who now takes over the immediate running of church affairs, announced Francis's death.
"This morning at 7:35 am (0535 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His church," Farrell said.
The pope's funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leaders from US President Donald Trump to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said they would attend to honour the Catholic leader.
The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.
His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Saturday in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
Francis's coffin -- which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc -- will then be taken inside the church and from there to the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
The date was set by the first so-called "general congregation" of cardinals on Tuesday morning, which kicked off a centuries-old process that culminates in the election of a new pontiff within three weeks. Earlier, the Vatican published the first images of the pontiff in his open coffin, ahead of its transfer to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday at 9:00 am (0700 GMT), to lie in state. The pope's body was photographed during a service Monday evening in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and where he died.
Heads of state and royalty are expected for his funeral, with Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron the first to announce they would attend even before a date was confirmed. On Tuesday, a source at the Ukrainian presidency told AFP that Zelensky, too, would come to Rome. �"AFP, REUTERS
