Political and faith leaders from around the world have begun to react to the death of Pope Francis, with messages pouring in from across Europe and beyond.
Prime ministers from the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Ethiopia…. Presidents from France, Poland and India….Patriarchs from Moscow, a chancellor-to-be from Berlin.
J.D. Vance, the U.S. vice president who visited Rome this weekend, said he’d been happy to see the pontiff on Sunday, despite his clear illness, and his heart went out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved Pope Francis.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, said Francis had inspired millions with his humility and love for those less fortunate, and that his legacy would guide people to a “more just, peaceful and compassionate world.”
Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s leader, praised his commitment to peace and social justice, while his Italian counterpart Giorgia Melone called him “a great man, a great shepherd.”
he President of Poland, Andrezj Duda, described his simplicity, and said the Pope considered that mercy was the answer to the modern world’s challenges.
Meanwhile Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said his “tireless commitment to society’s weakest members” would be central to the way he would be remembered.
And France’s Emmanuel Macron said he had worked on the side of the world’s most fragile, bringing hope and joy to the poorest
Meanwhile in Moscow, the city’s Patriarch praised Francis for actively improving relationships between Roman Catholics and Russian Orthodox believers.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog said on social media that the pontiff had dedicated his life to peace “in a troubled world”, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had ignited a spirit of hope for those who were suffering.
Kenyan President William Ruto wrote that the death was a “big loss” to the Christian world, and said Francis had “exemplified servant leadership,” inspiring millions worldwide, regardless of their faith, with his “strong ethical and moral convictions.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a statement posted on social media that Francis had used “tireless” efforts to “promote a world that is fairer for all.” Meanwhile Britain’s King Charles, who had visited with the Pope earlier this month during a visit to Rome, wrote in a statement with his wife Camilla that he had “profoundly touched the lives of so many.”
Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama praised Pope Francis on Monday, offering Buddhist prayers and writing to the papal envoy to “express his sadness” at his death.
“Pope Francis dedicated himself to the service of others… consistently revealing by his own actions how to live a simple, but meaningful life,” the Buddhist leader said in a statement from his base in exile in India.
“The best tribute we can pay to him is to be a warm-hearted person, serving others wherever and in whatever way we can”.
A brother
Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s prestigious seat of learning, said Monday that Pope Francis will be remembered for his championing of interfaith dialogue.
Following the pope’s death, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, calling Francis “his brother,” said he had “strengthened relations with Al-Azhar and the Islamic world, through his visits to numerous Islamic and Arab countries, and through his views demonstrating fairness and humanity, particularly regarding the aggression on Gaza and combating abhorrent Islamophobia”.
Argentina in shock
Argentines lit candles in sorrow and shock on Monday at the death of their countryman Pope Francis, once archbishop of the capital Buenos Aires, after battling illness.
Born Jorge Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents, Francis was the first Latin American pope. Some in his homeland regretted that he never returned as pontiff, but there were plaudits for his focus on the poor and his liberal reforms.
“The Pope’s death is going to really leave a mark of pain in people’s hearts,” resident Nicolas Cordoba said in downtown Buenos Aires early on Monday, where many were just finding out the news.
“It hurts me a lot because I remember mostly his words in support of bisexuals and homosexuals. It literally hurts me.”
Argentina’s presidency office praised Francis’ focus on inter-religious dialogue, building up spirituality amongst the young and cost-cutting in the Vatican, something that tallies with President Javier Milei’s “chainsaw” austerity.
Consequential leader
Former US president Joe Biden paid tribute to late Pope Francis, saying he was “unlike any who came before him” and hailing his record of fighting for peace and equity.
“Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him,” Biden, a staunch Catholic, wrote on X alongside a picture of him and the Pope.
Interfaith dialogue
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed Pope Francis for his efforts to further dialogue between different faiths after the Argentine pontiff died at the age of 88.
“A respected statesman, Pope Francis was a spiritual leader who placed great importance on dialogue between different faith groups,” he wrote on X, saying he was also someone who took “initiative in the face of humanitarian tragedies, especially the Palestinian issue”.
NPR/ AFP/YL