NEWS / Pope Francis died of stroke and irreversible heart failure – death certificate

Pope Francis’s cause of death has been revealed in his death certificate, which states that he died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure. The causes were confirmed by Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli. The certificate also specified that Francis had fallen into coma before his passing.

Pope Francis died on Monday, April 21, after appearing in St. Peter’s Square the day before to celebrate Easter.

"Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Cardinal Kevin Farrell, currently serving as the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, announced on the Vatican's TV channel, as quoted by Reuters. "At 7:35 (0535 GMT) this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father."

Andrea Arcangeli, the doctor who signed off on Pope Francis’s death certificate, also stated that the Pope was also suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. Francis was also hospitalized in March for a lung infection.

The duties of the head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican will be temporarily exercises by Camerlengo Farrell and Giovanni Battista Re, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, until the election of a new Pope by a conclave, which should take place in the next 15-20 days following the death of the previous pontiff. There is no clear front-runner for the position, which the Francis, an Argentine cleric whose real name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had held since 2013.