The King and Prime Minister have led tributes to Pope Francis, who died aged 88, hours after he greeted thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to celebrate Easter Sunday.
The Vatican announced that the pontiff, who had recently been in hospital for 38 days fighting pneumonia, died at 7.35am on Monday morning, before tributes quickly flooded in from faith leaders and politicians across the world.
Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced Francis had died, describing how "his entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church" before bells tolled in church towers across Rome.
King Charles quickly paid tribute to Francis, describing how his death had left him and the Queen with “heavy hearts”.
But the couple explained they were comforted to know that the Pope had been able to share an Easter greeting one last time.
In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, Charles said: “My wife and I were most deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis.
“Our heavy hearts have been somewhat eased, however, to know that His Holiness was able to share an Easter Greeting with the Church and the world he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.
“His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others.
“His belief that care for Creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world.
“Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.”
Earlier this month, Charles and Camilla spent a brief time with the Pope, with the couple describing the visit as a “very significant and special moment”.
The King and Queen were said to have had a wonderful conversation with the pontiff during their private meeting that lasted 20 minutes at the Vatican.
Read More
The King’s statement continued: “The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month.
“We send our most heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Church he served with such resolve and to the countless people around the world who, inspired by his life, will be mourning the devastating loss of this faithful follower of Jesus Christ.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to Pope Francis as “a Pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten”, saying “hope was at the heart of his papacy”.
He wrote: “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…
“He was close to the realities of human fragility, meeting Christians around the world facing war, famine, persecution and poverty. Yet he never lost hope of a better world.”
The Pope was also remembered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who shared a photograph from a 2023 meeting he had with Francis in which the pontiff told him he is “praying for peace” after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity,” Mr Zelensky said in his statement.
“He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support.”
Other European leaders also quickly paid tribute, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who described Francis as “a man of humility, on the side of the most vulnerable and the most fragile”.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mourned the pope on Monday, recalling how Francis kept some of her daughter’s artwork in a drawer.
"The fact he's leaving on Easter Monday, it's like he wanted to do his duty until the very end," Meloni added.
Tributes also flooded in from across the Atlantic, including from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
"He was a good man, worked hard. He loved the world, and it's an honor to do that," Trump said at an Easter event at the White House, referring to his order that flags across the country be flown at half-staff to honor Pope Francis' memory.
Trump posted to his Truth Social account today: "Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!"
Vice President JD Vance who had met briefly with Francis on Easter Sunday, hours before he died.
Months after Francis criticised President Donald Trump's administration over their plans to deport migrants en masse, Pope Francis offered Mr Vance three chocolate Easter eggs for his three young children in Sunday's brief meeting. Vance said the Pope was “obviously very ill” and recalled a homily he gave in the early days of the Covid pandemic.
"I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis," Mr Vance posted to X.
"My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.
"I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill."
Mr Vance said he will "always remember" the pontiff for a "beautiful" homily he gave after the outbreak of Covid-19 in which Pope Francis called for listeners to "embrace hope".
Former US President Joe Biden said Pope Francis will be remembered as "one of the most consequential leaders of our time" and called him the “People’s Pope”.
Meanwhile, former US president Barack Obama said Pope Francis "made us want to be better people".
Sharing a picture to X of the pair smiling as they shook hands in the White House's Oval Office in 2015, Mr Obama said: "Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people.
"In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound - embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners - he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another.
"May we continue to heed his call to 'never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope'."
Members of Gaza's tiny Christian community also said they were "heartbroken" on Monday after hearing about the pontiff’s death.
Francis had campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to Gaza’s Christians on the phone every evening throughout the war.
In televised remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the pope died immediately after Easter, suggesting that "this is a special sign that the person has lived their life not in vain and has done a lot of good".
Mr Putin said Russians will always remember his "highly positive attitude to Russia".
Across the wider Middle East, Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, praised Francis' constant engagement with them as a source of solace at a time when their communities faced wars, disasters, hardship and persecution.
"We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong. We lost a man who fought every day in every direction to protect this small herd of his," George Antone, 44, head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, told Reuters.
Francis called the church hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Antone said, the start of what the Vatican News Service would describe as a nightly routine throughout the war. He would make sure to speak not only to the priest but to everyone else in the room, Antone said.
The Church of England’s most senior bishop later recalled how meeting the Pope and saying the Lord’s Prayer together “changed me”.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said he had been privileged to meet Pope Francis on a few occasions, and remembered one encounter a few years ago when they prayed together.
Mr Cottrell said despite having said the Lord’s Prayer – also known as the Our Father – countless times before, it was when he said it with Francis that the significance of the word “our” came through.
Political and religious leaders in Ireland paid tribute to Pope Francis as an “exceptional” leader whose papacy was “a gift to the world”.
The President of Ireland said Pope Francis had approached his papacy with “a unique humility” and advocated for the importance of human dignity.
Michael D Higgins also said Pope Francis had sought to play a “positive role” on issues such as attitudes to women and the LGBT+ community in the Church.
Irish premier Micheal Martin said Pope Francis held “a special place in the hearts of Irish people”, while deputy premier Simon Harris said he “bore his illness with great dignity and courage”.
In London, crowds of mourners gathered at Westminster Cathedral to pay tribute to Pope Francis.
Father Patrick van der Vorst led a morning service addressing the Pope’s “symbolic” passing on Easter Monday.
Mourners entered, filing past a commemorative display lined with candles around a photo of the late pontiff.