POPE TAKES LAST POPE MOBILE RIDE, PASSES AT 88
REUTERS REPORTS:
VATICAN
CITY,
April
21
(Reuters)
-
Pope
Francis,
the
first
Latin
American
leader
of
the
Roman
Catholic
Church,
died
on
Monday,
ending
an
often
turbulent
reign
in
which
he
sought
to
overhaul
an
ancient
and
divided
institution.
He
was
88,
and
had
suffered
a
serious
bout
of
double
pneumonia
this
year,
but
his
death
came
as
a
shock
after
he
had
been
driven
around
St.
Peter's
Square
in
an
open-air
popemobile
to
greet
cheering
crowds
on
Easter
Sunday.
FOX REPORTS:
President Donald Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff Monday following the death of Pope Francis.
The declaration comes after Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Rest in Peace, Pope Francis! May God bless him and all who loved him!"
"I just signed an executive order putting the flags of our country, all of them, all federal flags and state flags at half mast in honor of Pope Francis," Trump said Monday. "He was a good man, worked hard. He loved the world. And it's an honor to do that."
The White House released a proclamation from Trump stating: "As a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on the day of interment.