Washington DC [US], April 22: Members of the 1.4 billion-member global Catholic community expressed grief on Monday at the death of Pope Francis aged 88, many praising him as a humble man who stood up for the marginalised.
At the Vatican, tourists and pilgrims there for Holy Week were dazed at the pontiff's demise the morning after he had driven in his open-topped pope mobile through crowds cheering "Viva il Papa!" on Christianity's holiest day.
In Francis' homeland Argentina, where he once served as the city's archbishop, people woke up to the news.
Dozens of churchgoers gathered for a Mass in Buenos Aires cathedral.
Some of the faithful remembered Francis' compassion towards those caught in war zones.
At the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, David Sieben, 25, who recently completed a nine-month pilgrimage from Germany, said he hoped Francis' successor would persist with his push to foster understanding between Christianity's different branches.
Peter Ladweg, taking a break from a run in Berlin, said he would like the next pope to be younger.
Ho, a Catholic in Seoul, was grateful for Francis' prayers for South Korea after the Sewol ferry disaster that killed 304 people in 2014. "When the world is facing complex challenges, the Pope always cares about that, and I always feel deepest gratitude in my heart for him," he said.
Beata Wolska, a pensioner in Poland, said she admired Francis's humility and his decision to be buried in a simple wooden coffin in a Rome basilica rather than in the Vatican.
Rosane Ribeiro in Rio de Janeiro described Francis as unique and extraordinary. "As a priest, he got up every day to pray for the world," she said. "He was simply a 10, and died at a marvellous and beautiful time (Easter), worthy of him."
Rosemary Mushayi, a worshipper in Nairobi, Kenya, said he was a pope who struck a chord with people from other faiths.
At noon in Rome, bells tolled at St Peter's Basilica and a silence descended on the crowd.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
