Pope Francis' doctor reveals heartbreaking final moments before his death aged 88

Pope Francis' doctor has revealed what happened during his final moments before passing away earlier this week on Easter Monday.

The late Bishop of Rome's cause of death has been confirmed a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, with the news prompting an outpouring of tributes across the globe as the nine days of mourning commence before a new successor is finally chosen to replace Francis.

With his funeral set to take place in just a matter of days on Saturday (26 April), his doctor, Dr Sergio Alfieri has opened up about Francis' last moments before eventually passing away.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday (24 April) that Dr Alfieri found Francis with his eyes open and breathing normally, but unresponsive when he was called to the Vatican early on Monday morning.

Pope Francis passed away aged 88 on Easter Monday (21 April) (Franco Origlia / Contributor / Getty Images)

Dr Alfieri - who coordinated Francis’ five-week hospital treatment for double pneumonia and continued to oversee the pope’s treatment after the pontiff returned to the Vatican on March 23 for two months of rest - was alerted at 5.30am on Monday by Francis' health care assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, that Francis had been stricken and needed to be taken to the hospital.

The doctor told Corriere that he arrived 20 minutes later.

"I went into his room, and he had his eyes open. I noted that he did not have respiratory issues, so I tried to call him but he did not respond," Dr Alfieri was quoted as saying. "He also did not respond to stimuli, even painful ones.

"In that moment, I understood there was nothing more to do. He was in a coma."

The late Bishop of Rome's cause of death was a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure (Lisa Maree Williams / Stringer / Getty Images)

Dr Alfieri said it was too risky moving Francis back to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for a complex respiratory infection that nearly killed him twice.

"The pope wanted to die at home, he always said it while he was at Gemelli," he explained.

The pope died two hours after suffering a stroke.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived and said the rosary over the body, accompanied by the papal household staff, Dr Alfieri told the Milan daily.

"I gave him a caress, as a farewell," the doctor recalled.

Vatican News has reported that the pope managed a gesture of farewell to Mr Strappetti after falling ill, and that people with him at the time said he did not appear to suffer.