SHOTLIST: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (APR. 23, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE SHOT OF BASILICA OF KOEKELBERG 2. VARIOUS OF POPE FRANCIS PHOTOGRAPHS AND CANDLES 3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GIVING FLOWERS, OFFERING PRAYERS IN CHURCH OF OUR LADYBRUSSELS, BELGIUM - APR. 23, 2025: Catholics in Brussels gathered at the Basilica of Koekelberg and the Church of Our Lady to honor Pope Francis after his death. A portrait of the late pope was displayed inside the church as people paid their respects. Pope Francis died at age 88 after suffering a prolonged illness, the Vatican announced on Monday. He suffered a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis" associated with thrombocytopenia, according to a previous Vatican statement. Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrant parents. He studied in Argentina and later in Germany before being ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1969. Over a decade into his papacy, Pope Francis remained a figure of admiration and controversy. He sought to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy, tackle corruption, and address some of the Church’s most pressing challenges. While he had been hailed for his humility and commitment to social justice, his leadership had also drawn sharp resistance from conservatives within the Church and beyond.