Pope Francis died of Stroke, Heart Failure – Vatican reveals

Pope Francis died of a stroke that led to a coma and “irreversible” heart failure, according to his death certificate released by the Vatican on Monday.

The 88-year-old Catholic leader passed away on Monday morning, nearly a month after being discharged from a five-week stay in hospital, during which he nearly died from double pneumonia.

He died at 7:35 am (0535 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence within the Vatican. His death certificate cites “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse” as the cause of death.

The certificate also noted that the Pope had previously suffered from acute respiratory failure during his hospitalisation for double pneumonia.

It further revealed he had a history of arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis, and Type 2 diabetes — the latter not previously made public.

The document was signed by Professor Andrea Arcangeli, Director of Health for the Vatican City State.