Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has declared seven days of national mourning in Pope Francis’s home country, according to his spokesman.
Pope Francis was a source of immense pride for Argentina, where the majority of the population identify as Catholic, and the wider region.
He was the first pope from Latin America.
The Pope's death has already prompted gatherings in the capital Buenos Aires.
His focus on helping the poor and tackling economic inequality resonated in a country that has faced years of economic turmoil. Though, in the past, these views led to a strained relationship with President Milei due to ideological differences.
He provided a strong – and progressive – voice for the Catholic Church in Latin America, home to nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics, at a time when evangelical Protestantism is on the rise in the region.
He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and then became Archbishop.
His supporters saw him as a strong voice for the Southern Hemisphere more widely, drawing attention to global inequality after centuries of European leadership of the Catholic Church.
His critics felt he failed to do enough to oppose Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship, a period where thousands of people were tortured, killed, or forcibly "disappeared" from 1976-1983.
