Pope Francis suffered a stroke, heart failure — Vatican doctor

The Vatican said Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88, suffered a stroke which led to a coma and his heart to fail, as he recovered from a five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia.

- BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, JEL SANTOS, RAYMUND ANTONIO, ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ, and MERLINA HERNANDO-MALIPOT

It also said the pope had decreed that he will be buried in St. Mary Major Basilica in a simple underground tomb. The basilica is home to Francis' favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, to whom he was particularly devoted.

Cardinals have taken their first decisions following the death of Pope Francis, setting Saturday as the date for his funeral and allowing ordinary faithful to begin paying their final respects starting Wednesday, when his casket is brought into St. Peter's Basilica.

The cardinals met for the first time Tuesday in the Vatican's synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis' successor.

The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

The Vatican has begun a Rosary prayer in St. Peter's Square in its first public commemoration following Pope Francis' death. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, led the prayer as the sun set.

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.

Francis recently returned to the Vatican after 38 days in a hospital for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia, 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. The next pope is yet to be decided.

Francis' coffin will be moved from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived to St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing. In a change ordered by Francis, the pope's body will no longer be placed on an elevated bier in the basilica. Rather, the wooden coffin will be placed facing the pews.

The pope's apartment is sealed