ROME, April 21. /TASS/. Pope Francis likely died from a stroke or a brain hemorrhage, Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper writes.

According to the paper, the pontiff’s death was not due to respiratory failure.

Pope Francis was hospitalized from February 14 to March 23 with pneumonia.

"The pope passed away peacefully," the newspaper quoted doctors as saying.

A source told TASS earlier that the pontiff's condition had significantly deteriorated the night before and it had become clear by 6:00 a.m. that he was on the brink of death. The source specified that no one had expected the pope’s health to deteriorate so sharply.

Pope Francis was very weak after his pneumonia hospitalization, which was clear during his rare public appearances. He did not participate in public events and received very few visitors. Exceptions were made for the British royal couple in early April and US Vice President JD Vance, who offered his Easter greetings to the pontiff in a brief meeting on Sunday.

Pope Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88. He took the helm of the Catholic Church as the 266th pope in 2013, following the resignation of his predecessor Benedict XVI.