Pope Francis has died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli says in a death certificate, reports Al Jazeera.
The certificate released on Monday for the 88-year-old pontiff said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death on Monday morning.
Francis died of “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, the death certificate said. It added that the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church died at 7:35am (05:35 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
Just a day earlier, the pontiff made what would be his final major appearance as he greeted thousands of Easter worshippers from an open-top popemobile in St Peter’s Square and delivered a blessing through an aide.
Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy with life-threatening complications in recent weeks during a bout of double pneumonia, for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital in February and March.
The death certificate added that Francis also suffered from arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis and type 2 diabetes, ailments that had not been previously disclosed.
The Vatican also released Francis’s spiritual testament – a written statement of faith – in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.
The text specified Francis wanted to be buried “in the ground, without particular decoration” but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
“As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial,” read the testament, which was dated June 29, 2022.
“May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me,” it said.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
