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The death of Pope Francis.

On Monday, the Vatican announcedPope Francis died at the age of 88. Francis, the Catholic Church’s 266th pope, had led the Church since 2013 as a relatively progressive pontiff, grounding many of his beliefs in social and economic justice. The pope’s cause of death was identified as a stroke that led to a coma and heart failure; the stroke followed his February 14 hospitalization with double pneumonia. He recovered and was released from the hospital on March 23 but made few public appearances. On Sunday, he blessed a crowd of thousands in St. Peter's Square after Easter Mass, his final public appearance.



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