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| Candles and placards are pictured during a protest in support of Alfie Evans, in front of the British Embassy building in Warsaw |
Alfie Evans, the 23-month-old British toddler whose grave illness drew international attention, died early on Saturday, his family said.
Alfie had a rare, degenerative disease and had been in a semi-vegetative state for more than a year.
After a series of court cases, doctors at Alder Hey Childrenโs Hospital in Liverpool removed his life support on Monday, against his parents wishes.
He confounded expectations by continuing to breathe unaided for days, but died in the early hours of Tuesday, his parents said.
โMy gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30 absolutely heartbroken,โ the boyโs father Tom Evans wrote on Facebook.
โOur baby boy grew his wings tonight โฆ Thankyou everyone for all your support,โ his mother Kate James wrote.
Medical experts in Britain had agreed that more treatment for Alfie would be futile, but his parents wanted to take him to Rome, where the Vaticanโs Bambino Gesu hospital had offered to care for him.
A British court rejected an appeal by the parents on Wednesday to take their son to Italy.
The case has provoked strong feelings over whether judges, doctors or parents have the right to decide on a childโs life. Alfieโs parents have been backed by Pope Francis and Polandโs President Andrzej Duda.
