By Iona Cleave

Pope Francis thanked his personal nurse for encouraging him to greet crowds on Easter Sunday, in what were some of his final words.

The Argentine pontiff, 88, died on Monday morning after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest less than a month after surviving a five-week bout of double pneumonia.

The Vatican revealed the Pope had sought reassurance from Massimiliano Strappetti, the veteran Vatican nurse who was providing him with 24-hour care, before surprising well-wishers with a short tour in his popemobile.

“Do you think I can manage it?” Francis asked his nurse.

The medic, in whom he had complete confidence, reassured him that he could.

Francis, flanked by bodyguards, appeared exhausted as he perched on the raised seat of his popemobile, waving to the estimated 35,000 Catholic worshippers who lined the aisles inside St Peter’s Square on Sunday for what would be his final public appearance.

He later thanked Mr Strappetti “for bringing me back to the Square”.

The pontiff had spent 38 days in hospital earlier this year but had returned to the Vatican in late March and appeared to be recovering.

Francis, known to push himself to exhaustion, spent his final day working, defying the advice of doctors who had told him to take two months’ rest and allow his ageing body to heal.

The remainder of his final Sunday was spent normally, followed by a “peaceful dinner” in his Casa Santa Marta residence, Vatican News reported.

The first signs of a “sudden illness” occurred at 5.30am on Monday.

More than an hour later, he waved to Mr Strappetti from his bed in what the outlet described as “a gesture of farewell” before falling into a coma.

Francis was declared dead at 7.35am.

“He did not suffer. It all happened quickly,” Vatican News said, quoting people who were with the pontiff in his final moments.

“It was a discreet death, almost sudden, without long suffering or public alarm, for a pope who had always been very reserved about his health.”

The Pope credited Mr Strappetti with once having saved his life after persuading him to undergo surgery for an inflammation in his intestine.

His body will lie in state in St Peter’s Basilica to allow Catholics from across the world to pay their respects in person before his funeral takes place on Saturday.

Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, the US president, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, are among the world leaders confirmed to be attending.

The Pope’s will dictated that an anonymous benefactor, instead of the Vatican, would pay for a scaled-back event.

Francis requested to be buried in a simple, unadorned tomb inside his beloved Roman basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, breaking with tradition by being laid to rest outside of the Vatican.