This photo taken and handout on March 23, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis waving to the crowd from a window of the Gemelli hospital in Rome before being discharged following a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia.

This photo taken and handout on March 23, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis waving to the crowd from a window of the Gemelli hospital in Rome before being discharged following a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Pope Francis

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1745231147444AFP__20250323__37KL7WD__v1__HighRes__VaticanReligionPope.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="This photo taken and handout on March 23, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis waving to the crowd from a window of the Gemelli hospital in Rome before being discharged following a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia. Handout/The Vatican Media via AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">This photo taken and handout on March 23, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis waving to the crowd from a window of the Gemelli hospital in Rome before being discharged following a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia. <em>Handout/The Vatican Media via AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>VATICAN CITY, Holy See (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) -- World leaders remembered Pope Francis as &quot;a beacon of compassion&quot;, as the death on Monday of the leader of the world&#x27;s 1.4 billion Catholics prompted a global outpouring of grief.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/21/pope-francis-beloved-lolo-kiko-to-filipinos-has-passed-away-vatican-1603">READ: Pope Francis, beloved ‘Lolo Kiko’ to Filipinos, has passed away</a></div><p>Here are some of the first reactions to the death of the 88-year-old pontiff:</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Rest in Peace&#x27;: Trump -</strong></div><p>&quot;Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!,&quot; US President Donald Trump, who clashed with the Argentine pontiff on a number of issues, wrote on his Truth Social platform.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Prayed for peace in Ukraine&#x27;:  Zelensky -</strong></div><p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Francis &quot;prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians&quot;.</p><p>&quot;We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians,&quot; Zelensky wrote on social media.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Defender of justice&#x27;: Putin -</strong></div><p>Russian President Vladimir Putin said Francis was a &quot;wise&quot; religious leader, a &quot;statesman&quot; and a &quot;consistent defender of the high values of humanism and justice,&quot; who &quot;actively promoted dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Consequential leader&#x27;: Biden -</strong></div><p>Former US president Joe Biden said Francis was &quot;unlike any who came before him&quot;, hailing his record of fighting for peace and equity.</p><p>&quot;Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him,&quot; Biden, a staunch Catholic, wrote on X alongside a picture of him and the Pope.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Courageous&#x27;: Britain -</strong></div><p>&quot;His leadership in a complex and challenging time for the world and the church was courageous, yet always came from a place of deep humility,&quot; UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.</p><p>King Charles, who is also the head of the Church of England, said he was &quot;deeply saddened&quot; by Francis&#x27;s death, adding: &quot;Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Wise despite &#x27;differences&#x27;: Argentina&#x27;s leader -</strong></div><p>&quot;In spite of differences that today seem minor, to have known him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me,&quot; Argentine President Javier Milei posted on X of his countryman Francis.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Dialogue between faiths&#x27;: Turkey -</strong></div><p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised Francis as a &quot;respected statesman&quot;.</p><p>The leader of the Muslim-majority nation also called Francis &quot;a spiritual leader who placed great importance on dialogue between different faith groups&quot;, who took &quot;initiative in the face of humanitarian tragedies, especially the Palestinian issue&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Stood for brotherly mankind&#x27;: France -</strong></div><p>French President Emmanuel Macron said the pope had always been &quot;on the side of the most vulnerable and the most fragile&quot; and that he had stood for &quot;brotherly humankind&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;A great man has left us&#x27;: Italy -</strong></div><p>&quot;Pope Francis has returned to the Father&#x27;s home. It is deeply sad news, because a great man has left us,&quot; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;A beacon of compassion&#x27;: India -</strong></div><p>&quot;Pope Francis will always be remembered as a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage by millions across the world,&quot; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.</p><p>&quot;I fondly recall my meetings with him and was greatly inspired by his commitment to inclusive and all-round development.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Strong ties&#x27;: Israel -</strong></div><p>&quot;He rightly saw great importance in fostering strong ties with the Jewish world and in advancing interfaith dialogue as a path toward greater understanding and mutual respect,&quot; Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;A faithful friend&#x27;: Palestinian president -</strong></div><p>&quot;Today, we lost a faithful friend of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights,&quot; Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said, noting that the pope &quot;recognized the Palestinian state and authorized the Palestinian flag to be raised in the Vatican&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Profound legacy&#x27;: Spain -</strong></div><p>&quot;I am sorry to hear of the death of Pope Francis. His commitment to peace, social justice and the most vulnerable leaves a profound legacy. Rest in peace,&quot; Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Indefatigable commitment&#x27;: Germany -</strong></div><p>Incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed &quot;great sorrow&quot; and described Pope Francis as a man &quot;guided by humility and faith&quot;.</p><p>He said the pontiff &quot;will remain in our memories for his indefatigable commitment&quot; to &quot;the most vulnerable, for justice and for reconciliation&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Servant leadership&#x27;: Kenya -</strong></div><p>&quot;He exemplified servant leadership through his humility, his unwavering commitment to inclusivity and justice, and his deep compassion for the poor and the vulnerable,&quot; Kenyan President William Ruto said.</p><p>&quot;His strong ethical and moral convictions inspired millions across the world, regardless of faith or background.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Heart open to all&#x27;: Philippines -</strong></div><p>&quot;Pope Francis led not only with wisdom but with a heart open to all, especially the poor and forgotten,&quot; said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, calling him a man of &quot;profound faith and humility&quot;.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pilgMit3DHI?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tyyDOWovj5Q?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>World leaders remembered Pope Francis as "a beacon of compassion", reacting with sadness after the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics died on Monday.</p>

World leaders remembered Pope Francis as "a beacon of compassion", reacting with sadness after the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics died on Monday.

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World leaders pay tribute to Pope Francis, dead at 88

World leaders pay tribute to Pope Francis, dead at 88

Agence France-Presse

Published Apr 21, 2025 06:27 PM PHT

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Updated Apr 21, 2025 09:00 PM PHT

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