NY News Update - Pope Francis dies at 88, cause of death revealed

This is the Fox 5 News Block

Pope Francis dies at the age of 88. The faithful gathered across the world from St. Peter's Square to right here in New York City

Good afternoon, Bianca Peters. Welcome to the News Block. We are just learning the pontiff's official cause of death

The Vatican says Francis died from a cerebral stroke that led to a coma, an irreversible heart failure

Pope Francis had been in poor health, suffering from pneumonia, and he was seen just yesterday, hours before his death

celebrating Easter with the public in St. Peter's Square. Commemorations for the pontiff already underway

and this is a live look at the Vatican where a rosary prayer just wrapped up

This is the first public ceremony in the wake of his death. We're going to start with our coverage

the look back at his life and legacy with Fox News' Sharon Crowley. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1936, the son of

Italian immigrants, felt a calling to the Roman Catholic priesthood early in his life

He was going to a school picnic with his friends, but on the way he saw the open door of a church

and he wanted to, he said, he just felt a call to go inside and go to confession and

He said something came over me and my life changed. Rocco Palmo is a Catholic journalist and Vatican expert

He had a girlfriend at the time. He was actually considering getting engaged and something just called him to follow Jesus as a priest

And that sense of the open door has permeated the rest of his life

You know, that's why he wants the doors of churches to be open. And that's why he wants, not just literally, but figuratively, to be open to people at the margins

He was elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church in March of 2013

Francis was an unexpected choice because he's the first member of a religious order in decades and the first Jesuit pope

But I think they saw him as someone who was theologically traditional

but also someone who understood why the church needed to reach out to the poor and people on the margins

So I think that's what sealed it for him. Father James Martin is editor-at-large for America Magazine

He says he met the pope many times. Known for his humility, Pope Francis discarded more elaborate trappings of the Vatican

He did not want to live in the apostolic palace. He said it's too big, as all popes, you know, after it was built, have lived there, I think

He lived in a guest house. He got rid of the red shoes. He lived very simply, which was really in keeping with his life as a Jesuit

We take a vow of poverty. Pope Francis, a strict follower of church doctrine, was also considered a revolutionary

He apologized to survivors of clergy child sex abuse a worldwide scandal he inherited that stained the reputation of the Catholic Church The Holy Father also advocated for saving the environment and allowing women to have leadership roles

Francis continually pushed for, as he called it, more incisive roles for women

He was the first pope to name a woman as the head of a Vatican department or dicastery

He appointed a woman to be the first governor of Vatican City

These are huge moves. And in terms of LGBT people, he's the first pope ever to use the word gay

And in September of 2015, Pope Francis paid a visit here to New York City

receiving a warm welcome from thousands of adoring New Yorkers. I think he had a very conversational and warm and welcoming style, which people responded to

He was not afraid to go out to people and hug them and have them hug him

Sharon Crowley, Fox 5 News. Well, many Catholics hearing this sad news went to St. Patrick's right here in New York to remember the pontiff

Fox 5's Lisa Evers is live outside the church as mourners continue to gather there now

Lisa. Well, Bianca, people keep streaming in from all over here to St. Patrick's Cathedral to say a prayer and to mourn the loss of Pope Francis

whether they come by subway, by car, or by plane. Many people here are feeling his message of this holy man

his message of peace and ending wars, resonating on so many levels with Catholics and non-Catholics from all over the world

Now, here at St. Patrick's Cathedral, purple and black bunting were hung over the main entrance doors to the cathedral

Detectives from the NYPD Emergency Service Unit put it up, the tribute in memory of the holy man who became known as the people's pope

The love for this pope seems to go beyond faith. Many of the people we spoke with here telling us of his humanity and his concern for children

and the poor and that it made it very special. And also his well-known dislike for the trappings of the role, a world leader trying to end wars

It's so clear the pope's life and humanitarian legacy is touching people across many different

lives, national lives, even religious lives. Here's what they told us. Take a listen

We think that we lost a big person that is a messenger for peace in the whole world

I love him. I'm from South America. And, you know, for me, he was an icon

And someone from the South Cone has been so important. There was a force in him. It's hard to describe it because it is the Holy Spirit

It was a force. You could feel it. Now, St. Patrick's Cathedral was the first place that Pope Francis visited when he was here in New York in 2015

He also visited East Harlem, which had special meaning for the community there, telling them that they mattered

And of course his ascension to the pope to be becoming pope was a source of tremendous pride for the Latino community at large especially for Hispanic Catholics and also for Argentinians Reporting live from Midtown I Lisa Evers Fox 5 News Bianca back to you in the studio All right Lisa thank you for that Meanwhile someone who knew Pope Francis quite well

our very own Timothy Cardinal Dolan. He visited Good Day New York this morning just to share his reflections

Here's what he told Roseanne and Kurt. It's kind of personal for Catholics

We don't call him our Holy Father for nothing. It's like the death of a dad

You know, in fact, we use a beautiful saying, Sede Vacante, the empty chair, because the chair of Peter, because he's the successor of Peter

it's empty now. We have the chair in which he sat when he came to New York. It's empty in the

sanctuary of St. Patrick's. So you're onto something, Kurt. It's personal for Catholics

but everybody seems to—I've already gotten dozens and dozens of texts and phone calls to sympathy

probably the majority of my Jewish friends. And you can see even more of the Good Day interview on our website, fox5ny.com

We'll date for the late pontiff's funeral, not set yet, but it will take place within

four to six days. After that funeral, there are nine days of official mourning before

the conclave will convene. The election itself is shrouded in secrecy with cardinals forbidden

from communicating with the outside world about that process. After the ballots are cast and pierced

they are burned in black smoke from the existing chapel chimney means no decision will white smoke

signals the cardinals have chosen a pope and that he has accepted we're going to be right back stay

with us it's on friday i'll be on the field you're gonna be there is that the football guy

can you can you give me a minute thanks so uh do you have any plans on saturday i was thinking

Hey, is that the guy? Dad. Yeah, it's the guy. Oh, I found Mr. Squishy

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All right, welcome back. We continue to follow the death of Pope Francis. And Fox News' Antoine Lewis joins us now with how the world is reacting to this Antoine

Bianca, it's like we were talking earlier throughout the day. Just every time you see images or pictures of the pontiff, humility is the first thing that comes to mind

especially as the tributes are coming in. Masses are being held. He's being remembered for his humble style and his embrace of the downtrodden

Now, let's take a live look at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. Steady stream of mortars have been gathering there all day long

We know that the prayer service just wrapped up not very long ago

and since the Vatican announced that the Bonita passed away, it's just been that type of presence going on there and across the world

Francis had been battling respiratory problems early this year. He was hospitalized for double pneumonia back in February

He made his last appearance yesterday, Easter Sunday, to bless thousands that had gathered in St. Peter's to see him

Some of those went back this morning after hearing that he was gone. It's just a very sad day

It's honestly, I think, impressive that he made it to Easter. I think that's almost like a miracle for Italy

I heard about it when we came in here. And yeah it pretty much devastated all of us And as the tributes continue to come in Pope Francis again being remembered for his humility and for not being afraid to address social issues but with a lighter touch than his predecessors

Back upstairs to you. All right, Antoine, thank you for that. And coverage of the death of Pope Francis continues here on Fox Local during the 5 and 6 o'clock news

Let's turn now to the forecast. See what's happening over here. Nick Gregory is joining us at the Weather Center

Hey, Nick. Hi there, Bianca. A little cooler day than yesterday and a rather cloudier day as well

And those clouds are going to leave some showers by the time we get to later on tonight. We're in the mid-50s now, up to White Plains as well, 60 Poughkeepsie

but only low 50s at the Jersey Shore and upper 40s by the time we get out to East Hampton, but get away from the ocean, and it's in the low 60s in parts of Pennsylvania

And you can see, again, a big temperature contrast, particularly, again, near the coast and in the city

about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than this time yesterday. Southeasterly wind is doing that, bringing in the cooler air in off the ocean

It's averaging about 10 to 15 miles per hour. And as we look to the west, we start to see some showers appearing

And for now, again, they're in western New York State down to about the Pittsburgh area

So we're okay for the next few hours or so. But, again, if you look at the wide view, you're going to see some more of these showers that will be arriving from the south and west

And they're likely to continue to be in our forecast into the early part of tomorrow morning as the system has to kind of move on through

So we'll take a look at our future cast, and we'll watch those showers approach from the west tonight

Again, probably the better chance will be after about 9 or 10 o'clock. And that will continue on into the early part of tomorrow morning

Still could be a shower out the door tomorrow morning. The clouds may linger until late morning, and we'll see some sun pop out in the afternoon

It's going to be a milder day. We're heading into the upper 70s in a lot of spots tomorrow

except right along the immediate coastal areas will be in the upper 60s there

We get to Wednesday. High pressure builds on in. Still another mild day, not quite as warm as tomorrow, but just as beautiful

We'll have a good amount of sunshine continuing into the forecast on Wednesday and likely to be on Thursday as well

All right, so overnight, we're going to see showers come in. 54 in the city, and pretty uniform temperatures

Mostly low in middle 50s just about everywhere you go. Maybe a couple of upper 40s in some of those coolest spots, particularly out over eastern Long Island

All right, so again, a couple of showers to start tomorrow. Clouds eventually will break

We'll get some sunshine moving into the afternoon. Look at the temperature, though. 77, but again, 60s at the coast to high 70s inland

All right, as we get into Wednesday, sunshine 72. That Easter banner should have gone away from yesterday

Thursday 71. We'll have some showers back by Friday afternoon. They're probably going to continue into Saturday

Upper 60s remain. And then we'll kind of stay in the 60s after that with sun and cloud Sunday and sunshine returning on Monday with temperatures again in the upper 60s

Bianca? All right. Does this officially mean we can put the winter coats away? Yeah, I think you're safe to do that now. Okay

Good news there. All right, Nick. Thanks so much. All right. Well, that's your news block for now

Bianca Peters, thanks for joining us. Tune in to the 5 o'clock news on Fox 5 and right here on Fox Local for all the day's news as it develops

We'll see you back here tomorrow