(WSB photo: Statuettes of St. Francis of Assisi, the pope’s namesake, at Our Lady of Guadalupe campus)

As you have probably heard, Pope Francis died this morning, less than a day after his Easter sermon according to a Vatican announcement. He was 88 years old, and the first Latin American and Jesuit to be elected Pope. We’ve checked with local Catholic churches and schools to see if any are planning special masses or vigils. By day’s end, we hadn’t heard back about any plans, due to closures today – but we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, the Archdiocese of Seattle posted this statement this morning expressing their sadness at the news.

-Hayden Yu Andersen, WSB