Conscious and alert the day before his death, he was able to concelebrate Mass in his papal apartment, the Vatican said. The pope began slipping in and out of consciousness the morning of April 2, and died that night, it said.

Tens of thousands of faithful streamed to St. Peter's Square as the pope lay dying, some staying all night in quiet and moving vigils, aware that there was little hope for his recovery. Shortly before his death, U.S. Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka led a candlelight prayer service in the packed square. "Like children, we draw close around our beloved Holy Father, who taught us how to follow Jesus and how to love and serve the church and the people," Cardinal Szoka said. "This is the gift we present to him as he prepares to take his last journey. May the Madonna present him to her Son and obtain for him, through her intercession, the reward promised to the faithful servants of the Gospel," the cardinal said. The pope's death was announced in St. Peter's Square after the prayer service.