VATICAN — The world reacts to the news that Pope Francis has died at age 88. The Vatican says the cause of death was a stroke that put him into a coma and led to heart failure. History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change.

The pope recently spent 38 days in a hospital for a respiratory crisis in the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.

Associated Press

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Faithful gather for a rosary prayer for the late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Monday April 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) 
A man carries a cross in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) 
PAKISTAN – Christians arrive with a portrait of Pope Francis for a prayer ceremony at the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, in Lahore, Pakistan Monday, April 21, 2025, following the announcement by the Vatican of the death of Pope Francis. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) 
ARGENTINA: Genali Nogales touches a painting of the late Pope Francis at the Basílica de San José de Flores, where he worshipped as a youth, following the Vatican’s announcement of his death in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello) 
LITHUANIA: A photo of the late Pope Francis is displayed at the Cathedral, following the Vatican’s announcement of his death in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) 
ROME: Faithful react as they attend a Mass for the late Pope Francis, at the St. John Lateran Basilica, in Rome, Monday April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) 
BRAZIL: A woman prays at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, following the Vatican’s announcement of Pope Francis’ death, in Aparecida, Brazil, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) 
ROME: A woman prays outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 12, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images) 
VATICAN: Pilgrims carrying a cross make their way to the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) 
JERUSALEM -Issa Kassissieh touches a photo of the late Pope Francis, which he placed in Jerusalem’s Old City following news of the pontiff’s death at age 88, on Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) 
INDONESIA: A woman prays during a mass at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption which visited Pope Francis visited in 2024, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) 
BRAZIL: Photographed through the door of a confessional, a person prays during Mass in honor of Pope Francis, following the Vatican’s announcement of his death, at the Cathedral in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) 
ARGENTINA: A worshipper cries during Mass at the Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina, following the Vatican’s announcement of Pope Francis’ death, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
NEW YORK: A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer installs bunting outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Monday, April 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 
Gregoria Caceres kneels in front of a portrait of the late Pope Francis at the Caacupe Parish, which he often visited and preached at, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) 
KENYA: Graffiti artist Alexander Ikawah, paints Pope Francis on a canvas in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) 
LONDON: Mourners say prayers and light candles in front of a portrait of Pope Francis inside Westminster Cathedral, in London, Monday, April 21, 2025, following the announcement by the Vatican of the death of Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) 
BETHLEHEM: A shop owner places a black ribbon over a photo of the late Pope Francis after the news of his death at age 88, in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) 
VATICAN: A woman holds a picture of Pope Francis reading in Italian “Farewell Francis, thank you His Holiness, today all the people cry for you” in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after Cardinal Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell announced the death of Pope Francis, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) 
ROME: File photo of Pope Francis presiding over the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession on Good Friday, a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, in front of Rome’s Colosseum, in Rome, Friday, April 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)