Pope Francis, who advanced church’s relationships with Jews, dies at 88

Pope Francis, who significantly advanced the Catholic Church’s relationship with Jews and Israel by actively promoting dialogue, reconciliation and a strong stance against antisemitism, died Monday, one day after marking Easter with a public appearance in the Vatican. He was 88.

The Vatican did not give a cause of death. Francis suffered multiple health conditions in recent years and had been hospitalized for several weeks in February with what the Vatican called a “complex clinical picture.”