“Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness that he continues to receive in these hours,” the Vatican statement said. The pope expressed particular gratitude for the well wishes he received from his fellow patients in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and asked for continued prayers.

The death of a sitting pope initiates a profound period of mourning and transition within the Roman Catholic Church, marked by a meticulously structured process to elect a new pontiff

Many who know him said that Francis, driven by a sense of mission and a discipline born of his early training, essentially worked himself into the hospital.