The head of Pope Francis' medical team, Sergio Alfieri, said on Thursday that the pontiff died quickly on Monday morning from an unexpected stroke without suffering undue pain, stating that there was nothing that doctors could have done to save his life.
Alfieri, a physician at Rome's Gemelli hospital reportedly oversaw the pope's treatment during a five-week stay when Francis was fighting double pneumonia earlier this year.
He said he got a phone call at around 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT) on Monday morning to come quickly to the Vatican and arrived about 20 minutes later.
"I entered his rooms and he (Francis) had his eyes open. I ascertained that there were no respiratory problems. And then I tried to call his name, but he did not respond to me.
"At that moment I knew there was nothing more to do. He was in a coma," he said.
According to Alfieri, some officials who were present with the pope suggested moving him immediately back to the hospital.
"He would have died on the way. Doing a scan we would have had a more exact diagnosis, but nothing more. It was one of those strokes that, in an hour, carries you away," he added.
We reported that Francis was 88 and had nearly died while fighting pneumonia, but his death came as a shock.
Just the previous day the pontiff appeared in St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday, suggesting his convalescence was going well.
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