The Australian prime minister has paid an emotional tribute to Pope Francis as a “devoted champion and a loving father” of Catholics in his country, following the death of the pontiff, aged 88.
Anthony Albanese, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, and church leaders issued statements after news of the pontiff’s death was announced on Monday night.
Speaking in Melbourne, Albanese – who is Catholic – said Francis’ death would be mourned by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
“Today, the prayers of more than a billion people – from all nations and every walk of life – go with Pope Francis to his rest,” Albanese said.
“He urged us to remember all we hold in common, and he asked the world to hear the cry of the earth, our common home.
“He invited world leaders to join him and, to quote him, ‘emerge from the dark night of wars and environmental devastation in order to turn our common future into the dawn of a new and radiant day’.”
As the first pope from the southern hemisphere, the Argentinian was “close to the people of Australia”, Albanese said.
“For Australian Catholics, he was a devoted champion and a loving father,” he said.
After reading the statement, Albanese paid his respects at St Patrick’s Cathedral, where he was welcomed by Monsignor Stuart Hall.
Albanese said he had asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to fly all commonwealth flags at half mast on Tuesday as a mark of respect.
“My sincere condolences to everyone who, for tonight, it will be a very difficult evening,” he said.
In his statement on behalf of the Coalition, Dutton said Francis “served God with the utmost devotion throughout his life”.
“He was the first Pope from the Jesuit order and the first Latin American Pope. He lived frugally and simply,” Dutton said.
“Above all else, he was driven by Christ’s values of mercy and forgiveness. He emphasised those values in his last Christmas address saying, “God’s mercy can do all things. It unties every knot; it tears down every wall of division; God’s mercy dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge.”
“With God, may Pope Francis rest in peace.”
Mourners under stormy Sydney skies
Lightning lit up the skies around St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Monday evening, a solitary bouquet of flowers on its steps.
Mourners came in twos and threes, quietly praying on the grand staircase in front of closed doors.
Hugo Ditroia, 33, an HR worker from Newtown, felt compelled to make his way to the cathedral as soon as he learned Pope Francis had died.
“I didn’t know what else to do. He was a pretty special guy. He led the church into a very different world.”
He said the pope had embodied love, decency and inclusion.
“I’m worried that the church won’t continue that ‘Francis vision’,” he said. “Tonight’s a very sad moment for our church.”
Margot McNiven, 78, a retired nurse from Newtown, took an hour to get to the cathedral.
“I’ve been here at the cathedral all Easter. I’ve come back not to mourn – this is to celebrate a healer. He’s healed the church,” she said. “Everyone belongs.”
‘We share in each other’s grief’
In a statement, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev Anthony Fisher, said Francis “was a Pope of many firsts”.
“The Church in Sydney and Australia joins with people throughout the world in mourning the passing of the Holy Father, Pope Francis,” Fisher said.
“As priest, bishop and pope, he embodied Christ’s command to care for all people, especially the most vulnerable.
“He was a Pope of many firsts. He was the first to take the name ‘Francis,’ the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first non-European pontiff in more than a millennium.
Speaking at St Mary’s Cathedral, Fisher said there would be “grief and gratitude” when Catholics wake up to the news of his death.
“We got a bit of extra time with him … and he even got to give his last Easter message yesterday,” he said on Monday evening.
“So I think there’ll be gratitude for that, for all he’s done for the church over the last 12 years. But there’ll also be grief. A lot of people loved him dearly, and they will miss him as our chief pastor in the Catholic church.”
At St Mary’s, public services mourning the pope’s death will begin on Tuesday at 6.45am, after which the archbishop said there would be “many masses offered for the repose of his soul, for his receiving a heavenly reward, and, of course, for the church going forward as well”.
“I think, too, that we can presume that other Christians and other people of faith, of all faiths, will be praying with us. I’ve already received messages tonight from Jewish and Muslim leaders of condolences.
“I think it’s a sign of something very beautiful about Australia that we do share in each other’s griefs and joys.”
While Francis had never visited Australia, it was hoped he would attend the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, he said.
The archbishop had met Francis about a dozen times and received a letter from him last week, appointing him to a new role in Rome.
“I always found him very easy to talk to, very informal, rather like an Australian in that respect. One particular memory I have was three years ago when I went to Rome for a meeting, when I had just buried my mother …
“When I went to shake his hand in the line of people meeting him, [he said to me] ‘My condolences on the death of your mum’. That he knew that she had died and that he cared was really quite remarkable.
“He would have been meeting a thousand people a day, and it was very moving for me.”
The archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, said St Patrick’s Cathedral would open early on Tuesday morning to allow mourners to pay their respects.
“Pope Francis, who came from the peripheries of the world, has been a father of the poor, and a witness of joy and hope. May the Lord, he so faithfully trusted in, now welcome him into eternal life,” he wrote on social media.
‘Tireless advocate for Palestine’
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, said Francis would be remembered for his “kindness and love of people”.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church,” he said.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said people from “all faiths will mourn the loss of Pope Francis tonight – he was a strong voice for peace, compassion and refugees.
”Even as his health faded, Pope Francis was a tireless advocate for Palestine, calling people in Gaza even from his hospital bed. Vale.”
