VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis probably expected that he would face opposition to his reform agenda after Catholics for two generations grew used to more conservative, doctrine-minded pontiffs.

Pope Francis died Monday morning in the Vatican City, less than a day after greeting a huge Easter Sunday gathering of Catholics in St. Peter's Square and issuing a plea for world peace. He was 88.

Rome — Pope Francis, who challenged deeply rooted norms and made it his mission to change the perception of the Catholic Church around the world, has died at the age of 88. The Vatican said Pope Francis died just after 7:30 a.