Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, has died

VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he sought to overhaul an ancient and divided institution.

He was 88, and had suffered double pneumonia this year, but his death came as a shock after he appeared in St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday, suggesting his convalescence was going well.