Pope Francis died Monday, April 21, one day after Easter Sunday. He had made a triumphant return to a public appearance on a balcony where he blessed a throng of some 50 thousand who cheered his effort to greet him. It had been only a short time after he had been treated for double pneumonia and ignored the advice of his doctors to avoid large crowds.
Moments after he appeared on the balcony, the Pope waded into the crowd in his popemobile and made several stops to speak to the faithful. gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican released a statement just after 7:30 AM on Monday that Pope Francis had slipped into a coma after suffering a stroke which was followed by heart failure.
Pope Francis set groundbreaking achievements on two fronts with his selection during the Vatican Conclave: He was the first pontiff from South America as well as the first Jesuit to be chosen.
His death comes six weeks following the Academy Awards ceremony where the film Conclave was a nominee for Best Picture. The film, which starred Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Jon Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, depicted the sudden death of a pope and the various machinations of the most likely candidates to be chosen by the electors. To be eligible to take part in the Conclave the assembled Cardinals must be under the age of 80.
The movie has all the elements of a thriller: The plot unfolds literally under lock and key. The rules of the Conclave include shielding the electors from all news media or contact with individuals who are not part of the conclave.
Pope Francis’s will stipulated that he not be interred at the Vatican but rather at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a place he visited often. Pope Francis was 88.