He died of a stroke and subsequently irreversible heart failure, the Vatican announced late Monday night.
The announcement was made about 12 hours after the first announcement of Pontiff’s death.
It is well known that Francis had serious health problems, which deteriorated in the last years of his life.
He was in particular with chronic pulmonary disease while at an early age, part of one lung had been removed.
On February 14, he was admitted to Gemelli Hospital with a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He was hospitalized in intensive care for some days, so his condition stabilized.
The period of mourning
The death of the Pope is followed by a period of nine days of mourning, known as Novendiale, which was originally an ancient Roman custom. Italy also declares a period of national mourning. , where hundreds of thousands will be lined up to submit their respects, including foreign officials and world leaders.
In the past, the Pope’s body was exposed to an elevated platform called the catapult, but in the case of Francis, because he asked for a simplistic ceremony, his body is expected to be in an open casket without particular splendor and grandeur.
In the meantime, the Vatican will enter a transitional period called Sede Vacante, which means “the seat is empty”. At this stage the governance of the Catholic Church is temporarily delivered to the College of Cardinals. However, important decisions cannot be made until a new pope is elected.
The burial
with the mourners flocking to the Vatican for the ceremony. He will be the dean of the Cardinal College, the 91 -year -old Italian Giovanni Batista.
Traditionally, the Pope is then buried in the Vatican’s crypts, under the Basilica of St. Peter. Nearly 100 popes have been buried there, including Pope Benedict East, a predecessor of Francis, who resigned in 2013 and died in 2022.
However, Francis said in an interview in 2023 that he chose to be buried in Vasiliki Santa Maria Matzore in Rome, one of his favorite churches. If this is done, it will be the first Pope for a century to be buried outside the Vatican.
The previous popes were traditionally buried in three coffins: one of a cypress, one of zinc and one of the elm, placed in each other. However, Francis has asked to be buried in a single coffin, made of wood and zinc.
The process of electing a new pope
. On the day of the vote, the Sistine Hat is sealed and the cardinals, who, by vowing for confidentiality, are locked in.
If no candidate concentrates the required two -thirds majority, a new round of voting is held. Four votes are foreseen per day. The process of electing Pope Francis came after about 24 hours and five votes. However, this does not mean that the process is always so fast: one concentrate in the 13th century lasted about three years, while another in the 18th century four months.
Once the ballots are counted, they burn on a stove in the Sistine hats, which has been installed in advance. A second stove burns a chemical that sends a tobacco signal through a chimney to the outside world: Black tobacco means that no new pope has been selected while white tobacco is chosen.
As soon as the young Pope is elected, a spokesman for the Cardinal College announces the well -known “habemus papam” in Latin, which means “we have a Pope”. The announcement is made by the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica overlooking thousands of faithful.
Then, the newly elected Pope, after choosing his papal name (probably one who honors a saint or predecessor) and wearing a white raz, goes out to the balcony to give his first speech to the faithful. Then the Catholic Church will acquire its new leader.
The favorites for succession
According to several analysts, it is quite likely, as in the case of Pope Francis, and the new Pope comes from a country outside Europe, though some Italian cardinals, including Pietro Palin, Matteo Zoupi and Pierbatista Pitzabala have also been discussed as possible.
Cardinals Friedolin Abongo Besungu from the Congo People’s Republic and Louis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, for example, are considered two important nominations. Hungarian, Peter Erdo, American, Raymond Burke, Dutch Wim Ezk and Maltese, Mario Grech, have also entered the nomenclature.
Two to three weeks after the Pope’s funeral, the Cardinal College will meet in the Sistine Hat to begin the process of electing a new Pope. Theoretically, any baptized Roman Catholic man could become a Pope, but for the last 700 years the Pontiff is always chosen by the Cardinal College.
Pope Francis, however, born as Jorge Mario Bergolio, was Argentine and the first non -European Pontiff for 1,300 years.
