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For years, traditionalists raged at Pope Francis's liberal approach. The question now is whether his successor will walk the same path, or take the Catholic Church in a new direction.

In a small church tucked into a side street in northern China's Hebei province, a group of around 10 people gathered for their weekly meeting, the day after Pope Francis died aged 88.

Down a narrow street in Villa 31, the oldest of Buenos Aires's informal settlements, Father Ignacio "Nacho" Bagattini celebrates mass in a community center for homeless drug addicts.

As the news of Pope Francis's death broke, Christians and non-believers alike made their way towards churches across the world, paying tribute to a pontiff renowned as a champion of the vulnerable.

(The Center Square) – Pope Francis died early Monday, the Vatican said. He had served as pope since 2013, and his official cause of death was a cerebral stroke that led to a coma, though he has had ongoing health issues for months. 

An influential French cardinal aligned with Pope Francis's stances was on Wednesday elected France's top bishop, as the country's Catholic Church reels from child sex abuse revelations.

Pope Francis is improving but still requires various in-hospital therapies, the Vatican said Saturday, even as it revealed the 88-year-old pontiff had laid plans to extend his years-long Synod process into 2028. 

Pope Francis marked 12 years as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, celebrating with cake and slowly recovering after a month in hospital, but with his health casting a shadow over his future.