What to know about the death of Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after a papacy of 12 years. Here are the key things to know about the death of the Argentine pontiff, the first from Latin America.

Francis died Monday morning at the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived at the Vatican. His death came almost a month after he returned there following his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia. The Vatican said Francis died after having a stroke.

St. Francis has been lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica. He is dressed in red liturgical vestments and his hands are folded, holding a rosary.

Interest in paying respects to him is high. The Vatican kept the doors open all night due to higher-than-expected turnout from mourners across the globe, closing the basilica for just an hour and a half Thursday morning for cleaning.

The basilica was to be kept open until midnight Thursday to allow the faithful to mourn. The public mourning period was scheduled to end on Friday at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) and the funeral was set for Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) in St. Peter's Square.

Heads of state, including U.S. President Donald Trump, are expected for the funeral.

Francis will then be buried, according to his will, in a simple underground tomb at St. Mary Major Basilica, home to his favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, to whom he was particularly devoted.

Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Feb. 14 for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his papacy.

Those weeks had raised fears that he might soon die or resign as Pope Benedict XVI did in a surprise move that led to the election of Francis in March 2013. But Francis insisted he would stay on in the role, and returned to the Vatican on March 23.

After a period of mourning, cardinals will gather to elect the next pope.

The cardinals will vote in secret sessions, and the ballots will be burned in a special stove after each session. Black smoke indicates no pope has been elected, while white smoke says the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.

Any baptized Catholic male is eligible, though only cardinals have been selected since 1378. The winner must receive at least two-thirds of the vote from those cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to participate.

Francis appointed the vast majority of electors, often tapping men who share his pastoral priorities, which suggests continuity rather than rupture.

While it's impossible to predict who the next pope will be, some cardinals are considered to have better chances than others.

Francis was known for his personal simplicity, from the choice of his name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced wealth to help the poor, to the outward symbols and priorities of his papacy.

He chose to live in the Vatican hotel instead of the Apostolic Palace and wore his old orthotic shoes and not the red loafers of the papacy.

In his teachings he focused on concern for refugees and other marginalized people. His first trip outside Rome as pope in 2013 was to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa to meet with newly arrived migrants. His plea for welcome put him at odds with U.S. and European policies.

He also also signaled a more welcoming stance toward LGBTQ+ people, while also making the fight against climate change a priority. Francis became the first pope to use scientific data in a major teaching document and made care for God’s creation a hallmark of his papacy.

He eschewed the grandiose even in his departure, lying in state in a simple coffin made of wood.

Francis tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality when it came to Ukraine, and that led to criticism for what some called an unclear position on Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.

He at times expressed apparent sympathy with Russia’s rationale for invading Ukraine — like when he said NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward enlargement. And last year he called on Ukraine to show the “courage” to negotiate peace.

Francis' critics also argued that he failed to bring justice to victims of clergy sex abuse or to bring the needed reforms to the church.

The Women’s Ordination Conference also lamented Francis’ unwillingness to push for the ordination of women. “This made him a complicated, frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking figure for many women," it said.

Nuns pray inside St. Peter's Basilica where Pope Francis is lying in state, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Carabinieri paramilitary police patrol St. Peter's Square as people line up to enter St. Peter's Basilica where Pope Francis is lying in state, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Cardinals pay their respects to late Pope Francis inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days. (Alessandro Di Meo/Pool Photo via AP)

Cardinals stand by the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days, after it arrived in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Vatican personnel pay their respects to Pope Francis inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where his body will lie in state for three days. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)

The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People walk past a wooden board where work in progress is taking place on the spot where Pope Francis will be buried, inside St. Mary Major basilica, in Rome, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Faithful pray before the Salus populi Romani (Salvation of the people of Rome), a Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus who in turn is holding a jeweled golden book, inside St. Mary Major basilica, where Pope Francis will be buried, in Rome, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A woman walks past a wooden board where work in progress is taking place on the spot where Pope Francis will be buried, inside St. Mary Major basilica, in Rome, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis's body is laid out in state inside his private chapel at the Vatican, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, left, prays in front of the body of Pope Francis laid out in state inside his private chapel at the Vatican, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

FILE - Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with the media at the Pope VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 16, 2013. Speaking of the moment of his election and his conversation with his friend, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, in the Sistine Chapel as the votes were going his way. “When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss and said: ‘Don't forget the poor!’ And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!” (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kuwait has released an additional 10 American detainees, bringing to nearly two dozen the total number freed by the country in the past two months, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The pardons of 23 Americans, done as a goodwill gesture by a U.S. ally, have yielded a quick succession of prisoner releases in the early months of a Trump administration that has sought to make hostage and detainee issues a foreign policy priority.

The prisoners, both men and women, include military contractors and veterans held for years on drug charges and other offenses by the small, oil-rich nation. One of them was said by supporters to have been coerced into signing a false confession and endured physical violence and threats against his wife and daughter.

Ten others were released in March, weeks after a visit to Kuwait by Adam Boehler, who is serving as the Trump administration’s envoy for hostage affairs. Other countries, including Venezuela, have released large numbers of Americans over a period of years, but it's unusual for so many U.S. citizens to be freed by a foreign nation in such a short period of time as Kuwait has done.

“We flew out, we sat down with the Kuwaitis, and they said, 'Listen, no one’s ever asked before at this level” for the release of the Americans, Boehler told the AP.

The releases were not done as part of a swap and the U.S. was not asked to give up anything in return.

“They’ve been extremely responsive, and their view is the United States is a huge ally. They know it’s a priority for (President Donald Trump) to bring Americans home,” Boehler said. “I credit it to the Kuwaiti understanding that we’ve stood up for them historically and they know that these things are important for the president.”

Kuwait is considered a major non-NATO ally of the U.S. The U.S. and Kuwait have had a close military partnership since America launched the 1991 Gulf War to expel Iraqi troops after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, with some 13,500 American troops stationed in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base.

But the country also has detained many American military contractors on drug charges, in some cases for years. Their families have alleged that their loved ones faced abuse while imprisoned in a country that bans alcohol and has strict laws regarding drugs. Others have criticized Kuwaiti police for bringing trumped-up charges and manufacturing evidence used against them — allegations never acknowledged by the autocratic nation ruled by a hereditary emir.

A spokesperson for the Kuwaiti embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Americans freed Wednesday “maintain their innocence, and it’s important to note none of these cases had an identified victim, and all of them were built on supposed confessions taken in Arabic without translation,” according to a statement from Jonathan Franks, a private consultant working on cases involving American hostages and detainees who represented nine of the 10 people released. He spent weeks in the country trying to negotiate the releases.

He credited the Trump administration for looking “for reasons to bring Americans home” even when they are not designated by the U.S. government as having been wrongfully detained. He said “these Americans, mostly veterans, lost years with their families.”

Among those freed Wednesday was Tony Holden, an HVAC technician and career defense contractor. He was working in support of Camp Arifjan at the time of his November 2022 arrest, when his family and supporters allege he was “set up by corrupt Kuwaiti police looking to earn bonuses.”

His supporters say his wife and daughter were physically threatened, that he was coerced into signing a written confession in Arabic and that his drug possession charge and sentence came in spite of him testing negative in a drug test and abstaining for religious reasons from drug and alcohol use.

“We are grateful to see Tony Holden released today," said Stacia George, chief engagement officer of Global Reach, a nonprofit organization that has advocated for Holden’s release. "Tony is an innocent man who was held unjustly for 902 days and this gives him the ability to come home to his family and restart his life."

Added U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “We celebrate his release and return to the United States.”

A minor is also being released in the coming days but is expected to remain in Kuwait, a U.S. official said.

In this image released by the U.S. State Dept., Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's top envoy for hostage affairs, left, greets military contractor Tony Holden, who was recently released from Kuwait, at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (U.S. State Dept. via AP)

FILE - U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler speaks during a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - The seal of the State Department is seen at the Washington Passport Agency, July 12, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)