LYON, France (AP) — Church bells tolled in mourning. Well-wishers flocked into pews. Tributes to Pope Francis poured in from around the world on Monday after the Vatican announced the pontiff's death at age 88.
The 266th pope was praised for his groundbreaking steps to honor the poor and the vulnerable; seek to end conflicts like those in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa; protect the environment; and guide the Catholic Church toward greater tolerance of gays and lesbians, among other things. Some critics say he didn't always go far enough. Others said he went too far.
Many recalled his legacy as the first pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit to reach the pinnacle of church hierarchy, one who stressed humility over hubris for a Church beset with scandal and indifference — and even as a soccer fan from “futbol”-crazed Argentina.
Here's a look at some of the global reactions a day after his last public appearance on Easter Sunday to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.
— U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met with the pope on Easter Sunday before traveling to India, wrote on social media that his “heart goes out” to the millions of Christians who loved him, and said: “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.”
— President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”
— King Charles III praised the pope for his work on safeguarding the planet, and alluded to their multiple personal meetings — including a private visit on April 10 at the Vatican. “We were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month,’’ the King wrote in a statement signed “Charles R.” It was the pope’s first known meeting with a foreign dignitary after he was hospitalized for five weeks with double pneumonia.
— Church bells tolled in honor of Francis, from the recently reopened Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to a lone bell at the St. Bartholomew Parish in Bulacan, in the Philippines, that was rung 88 times to signify “the 88 fruitful years of our dear Pope Francis,” the parish wrote on social media.
The church was one of many in the Philippines, the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia, to ring its bells to mourn the death of the pontiff, who in 2015 consoled survivors of Typhoon Haiyan and celebrated Mass before millions in Manila.
“Pope Francis showed us what it means to suffer with others and find hope in the midst of pain,” said Manila Archbishop Jose Advincula, alluding to the devastation wreaked by Haiyan in 2013 that left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages and displaced more than 5 million.
— Martin Pendergast, secretary of the LGBT Catholics Westminster in London, recalled how Francis looked past sexual orientation and said he wouldn't judge people who tried to carry out the will of God. "He was the first pope to actually use the word ‘gay,’ so even the way he speaks has been a radical transformation — and some would say a bit of a revolution as well -- compared with some of his predecessors,” Pendergast said.
— The Women’s Ordination Conference lamented Francis’ unwillingness to push for the ordination of women. “His repeated ‘closed door’ policy on women’s ordination was painfully incongruous with his otherwise pastoral nature, and for many, a betrayal of the synodal, listening church he championed,” the conference said. “This made him a complicated, frustrating and sometimes heart-breaking figure for many women.”
— Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of U.S.-based group BishopAccountability, called Francis “a beacon of hope” to many desperate and marginalized people worldwide. “But what we most needed from this pope was justice for the Church’s own wounded, the children and adults sexually abused by Catholic clergy. In this realm, where Francis had supreme power, he refused to make the necessary changes. This choice is having devastating consequences for the Church’s most powerless members. It will forever tarnish the legacy of this remarkable man.”
— Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted a recent letter from the pope to bishops in the United States alluding to “our attempts to respond to the face of Christ in the migrant, poor, and unborn. In fact, he has always used the strongest and clearest expressions in the defense of the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death.”
Francis upheld church teaching opposing abortion and echoed his predecessors in saying that human life is sacred and must be defended. But he didn’t emphasize the church’s position as much as they did, and said women who had abortions must be accompanied spiritually by the church.
— French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in the cyclone-battered Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, France’s poorest territory, said Pope Francis ″was at the sides of the most vulnerable, the most fragile, with a lot of humility, and in these times of war and instability, with a particular sense of the other, of the most fragile.″
″Throughout his whole life he fought for more justice, throughout his whole life he fought for a certain idea of humanity, an idea of fraternal humanity.″
— Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, one of the few official visitors to see Francis during his recent hospitalization, alluded to the pope’s personal comfort and advice, saying it "never failed me, not even in times of trial and suffering.” She added: "We are saying goodbye to a great man and a great shepherd.” Flags were flown at half-staff on Monday across Italy and some top-level soccer matches were postponed.
— Argentine President Javier Milei, who had chilly relations with the pope, expressed sorrow. “Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honor for me,” the far-right president wrote on X. As a TV pundit and libertarian economist before assuming office in 2023, Milei had publicly insulted Pope Francis as “representative of the evil one on Earth” for his perceived sympathy toward left-wing leaders and causes.
— The pope's beloved soccer team — Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo, whose nickname is “The Saints” — wrote “Goodbye, Holy Father” and “Our soul hurts” on its website. The team won the national championship in 2013, the year he was elected pope. During a global conference on faith and sport in 2016, Francis implored leaders to do a better job of keeping corruption off the playing field and said sports must be protected from manipulations and commercial abuse.
— Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te expressed condolences on social media and said people there would "continue to draw inspiration from his lifelong commitment to peace, global solidarity, and caring for those in need.” The Holy See is among Taiwan’s only 12 remaining diplomatic allies while China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has been poaching others.
— South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted the pope's “extraordinary life story” and said “Pope Francis advanced a world view of inclusion, equality and care for marginalized individuals and groups, as well as responsible and sustainable custody of the natural environment.” Africa has seen some of the Catholic Church's biggest growth in recent years.
— European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recalled the pontiff as an inspiration for the entire world, not just Christians. “He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said on social media. “My thoughts are with all who feel this profound loss."
— Israeli President Issac Herzog, whose role is mostly ceremonial, called Francis a man of “deep faith and boundless compassion.” Francis repeatedly criticized Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza and said allegations of genocide, which Israel has adamantly denied, should be investigated. “I truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered,” Herzog said on social media.
— The Palestine Red Crescent offered condolences to Christians, calling the pope “one of the most prominent supporters of justice and human dignity, including his noble stances regarding the suffering of the Palestinian people and their right to freedom and justice."
— In Gaza, Suheil Abu Dawoud, a 19-year-old Christian, recalled how Francis opposed the war in Gaza, called for peace between Palestinians and Israelis and had “asked us to be strong.” The pope used his final Easter Sunday message to lament growing antisemitism, call for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, appeal to the fighting sides to reach a ceasefire, and “come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!”
— President Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria recalled how the pope traveled to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a key landing point for migrants seeking to reach Europe, to meet with refugees and commemorate those who died while trying to cross the Mediterranean. The Austrian leader said on social media that the pope's impact resonated in ways large and small: “He ensured that homeless people near St. Peter’s Square could shower. He criticized dehumanizing words and gestures. That was Pope Francis."
— President Vladimir Putin of Russia hailed the pope as a “consistent defender of the high values of humanism and justice.” Last year, Francis suggested Ukraine should try to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Critics said those comments suggested the pope was siding with Russia. Francis tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that was often accompanied by apparent sympathy with Russia's rationale for invading Ukraine — as when he said NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion.
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that his war-torn country grieved together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support: “He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity. He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. Eternal memory!”
— Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Máxima, who like the pope was born in Argentina, recalled their “personal audience” with the pope at the Holy See in 2017 and how “Pope Francis radiated mercy in everything he did. With his deep-rooted faith in God’s love, he was the embodiment of benevolence and humanity.” They called him a “committed guardian of the listening and loving Church, and as a result he succeeded in winning the hearts of many, both within the Roman Catholic Church and outside it.”
— The Dalai Lama honored the pope in a letter to the Most Rev. Leopoldo Girelli, the Apostolic Nuncio to India, saying Francis “dedicated himself to the service of others, consistently revealing by his own actions how to live a simple, but meaningful life." "The best tribute we can pay to him is to be a warm-hearted person, serving others wherever and in whatever way we can,” the Tibetan spiritual leader wrote.
— Former U.S. President Joe Biden, who regularly attends Mass, on X called Francis “the People's Pope” and wrote: “I am better for having known him."
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AP journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press
