
VATICAN CITY (AP) – 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 pope-mobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square. From his first greeting as pope of a simple “Good evening” to his embrace of refugees and the downtrodden, Francis signaled a very different tone for the papacy, stressing humility over hubris for a Catholic Church beset by scandal and accusations of indifference.