Pope Francis dies after 12 years as Catholic leader

Pope Francis (file image)
Pope Francis has died at the aged of 88, the Vatican has announced. -AP

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican says in a video statement released on Monday.

He was 88 and had suffered various ailments in his 12-year papacy.

It ends his often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.