Vatican publishes death certificate, pontiff’s request to be buried at Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.
Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli says in a death certificate.
The certificate released on Monday for the 88-year-old pontiff said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death on Monday morning.
Francis died of “cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, the death certificate said. It added that the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church died at 7:35am (05:35 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
Just a day earlier, the pontiff made what would be his final major appearance as he greeted thousands of Easter worshippers from an open-top popemobile in St Peter’s Square and delivered a blessing through an aide.
Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy with life-threatening complications in recent weeks during a bout of double pneumonia, for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital in February and March.
The death certificate added that Francis also suffered from arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis and type 2 diabetes, ailments that had not been previously disclosed.
The Vatican also released Francis’s spiritual testament – a written statement of faith – in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.
The text specified Francis wanted to be buried “in the ground, without particular decoration” but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
“As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial,” read the testament, which was dated June 29, 2022.
“May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me,” it said.
Rosary prayer
The Vatican on Monday evening held a rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square, its first public commemoration since the pope’s death. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, led the prayer at sunset.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Vatican City State and one of the highest ranking women at the Vatican, delivered the first reading. Her appointment was a sign of Francis’s insistence that women be given more prominent decision-making roles.
Francis’s death marks the beginning of nine days of mourning called the Novendiale.
His body will be dressed in papal vestments and placed in St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing before his burial. Daily prayer services and Requiem Masses will be held in Catholic churches worldwide and at St Peter’s Basilica during this time.
The Vatican also enters a transitional period called the sede vacante or interregnum, during which power is handed over to the College of Cardinals, but no major decisions will be made until the papacy is filled.
In about 15 to 20 days, cardinals under the age of 80 will convene at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, which will be sealed off, to elect the new pontiff through a secret ballot. Once the next pope is elected, white smoke will emerge from the chimney of the chapel.
