Sydney mourns Pope Francis

Updated 22/04/25 at 6.15pm

By Darren Ally and Tara Kennedy

People of diverse cultures and all walks of life have gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral for prayers and Mass offered for Pope Francis, who was “so marked by Easter, he gave his last blessings on Easter day itself,” said Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. 

The poignant occasion on 22 April, the day following the late pope’s death, was a powerful reminder that in times of grief, unity can prevail.  

In attendance were Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Colonel Michael Miller LVO RFD representing New South Wales Governor Margaret Beazley, and former Governor General of Australia Sir Peter Cosgrove among many of the faithful. 

Earlier in the day, New South Wales Deputy Premier Prue Car and NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper visited the cathedral to lay flowers and pay their respects. 

In his homily Archbishop Fisher said the departed Pope Francis was a “man of God and of the people” and will be remembered for “holding up the hand for God’s mercy”, especially at Easter. 

“Pope Francis was so marked by Easter he gave his last appearance and blessings on Easter day itself,” he said. 

Like St Peter, bedrock of the church, who proclaimed his love for Christ and God three times, “Pope Francis will also be remembered for a triple procession of his love,” he added.

The pontiff had forged a deep love of the Lord after having a “profound experience of God’s forgiveness in confession”, forming his love of “divine pity.” 

“This he insisted is God’s very nature and Christ’s central message: inexhaustible compassion and redeeming forgiveness,” Archbishop Fisher said, adding that Pope Francis’ “tender gestures” throughout his papacy will be remembered, as will his insistence of the power of love conquering all evil. 

“We now pray that Pope Francis will enter into the triumph of truth and goodness, the light and love of the risen Lord he served so well,” he said. 

“May he rest in peace and rise in glory.” 

Among the mourners were Anitra Smith and husband Infantry Officer Brendan Smith, who met Pope Francis while on their honeymoon last year. 

“We received the Sposi Novelli blessing from him and when we told him that we love him, his response to us was, ‘Please pray for me’,” Mrs Smith told The Catholic Weekly. 

“We will definitely, as we have been, continue to keep him in our prayers and, of course, we entrust the leadership of the church to the Holy Spirit and to whomever the Lord and the Holy Spirit inspires to lead us for the next little while.”  

Representatives from Sydney Catholic Schools also paid tribute to the late Pope, saying it is a “deeply distressing time” for Catholics.  

“If we pray in strength and continue on and, of course, continue the legacy of Pope Francis,” said Family, Wellbeing, and Education Manager Guy Zangari.  

Kanak Kalburgi, a Sydney resident originally from Bangalore in India said although her family belongs to the Hindu community, he thought it right to “pay tribute to one of the world’s great and foremost religious leaders.” 

“I’m not Catholic, but I’m here because I think Pope Francis said a lot of things that anyone could resonate with,” said Mia Phillips from Minnesota in the United States. “He talked so much about caring for other people and being kind and being open. And so for me, being protestant, that’s still something that I think is important and that I really relate to.” 

Melanie Wright, visiting from Leicester in England was another non-Catholic who wanted to be present for the Mass to pay tribute to a good man. 

“I’ve seen three popes, but I never got to see this one, but he was definitely my favourite,” said John Adam from Drummoyne.  “Whether he was conventional or not, I thought he was faithful to the original teachings of Jesus Christ,” he said. 

Jason Lee and Jacob Young from Campbelltown, saw the late pope as a champion of social justice making him a beloved figure among young people like them. 

“We came here tonight to pay our respects. We lit a candle inside, just had to pay our respects to somebody who was so important to today’s faith. He was a catalyst for change. He’s changed the entire landscape of Catholic faith,” said Lee. 

Lauren Walker remembered the late pope with one word: kindness.  

“He was a pope of the people. He was very relatable and kind, loving, just wonderful. It’s very distressing. I can’t really say anymore,” she said, overcome with emotion.  

Updated 22/04/25

As dawn broke in Sydney, flags on government buildings were at half-mast as Catholics woke up to a world without their Pope.

Less than two weeks out from a federal election and on the first day of open polling, now the whole nation looks to its leaders to see how they are responding to the death of Pope Francis. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has cancelled his morning campaign events in Melbourne to pay respects to the late Holy Father, meeting with Monsignor Stuart Hall in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne.  

Albanese faced the press after his visit, praising Pope Francis, saying he “will be recorded in history as one of the most significant of all the Holy Fathers.” He said the Pope’s humility, embracing of the poor, and advocation for social justice issues in his messaging followed on from what Albanese sees “as the message of Jesus Christ.”  

“The change that he led was significant indeed and he, of course, advocated for reform that weren’t universally supported as well,” he said. “He had courage and showed true leadership.”

Albanese said the Pope’s death will not otherwise impact the rest of the lead up to the election and highlighted the nation’s position as a secular democracy. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has likewise paused his morning campaigning as he visits Orange in regional New South Wales, saying he didn’t see the need for “over-the top politics.” 

“I think it’s a respectful day and we can state our policies but I don’t think it needs to be an over-the-top day,” he told Today.

Dutton confirmed the polls are still open and the third leaders’ debate will still go ahead tonight (22/04) on Channel 9.

Governor-General of Australia Sam Mostyn said Pope Francis’ visit to our region in September 2024 exemplified his devotion to the global church. “In Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore, His Holiness encouraged communities to uphold respectful dialogue, love beyond difference and hope for the future,” she said. 

“On that Apostolic Journey, the Royal Australian Air Force was honoured to support the travel of His Holiness to remote Papua New Guinea. The members of 37 Squadron, who travelled alongside His Holiness to Vanimo, were proud to witness the Holy Father’s determination to embrace and uplift people around the world.  

“Australia shares a longstanding bond of friendship with the Holy See, which has endured for more than 50 years.” 

Further abroad, King Charles and Queen Camilla have also paid tribute to the late Pope, saying his death “brings great sadness to many.”  

“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,” the statement read.  

“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.” 

US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will attend Pope Francis’ funeral. 

Updated 11.30pm 21/04/25

Australian Catholics will experience much gratitude for Pope Francis mingled with grief following his death early on Easter Monday, said Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP addressing media at Cathedral House in the hours after the news was released by the Vatican.

“We have lost in Pope Francis a great pastor, a man who was a true priest and bishop, and a pastor for the whole church, and he will be sorely missed by billions of Catholics around the world,” Archbishop Fisher said, adding that the proportionally large number of Australians the pope had appointed to the recent Synod of Bishops was sign of a “certain affection for Australians and our way of doing things.”

“I think there’ll be gratitude for all he’s done for the church over the last 12 years. But there will also be a lot of grief. Many people loved him and will miss him dearly as our chief pastor in the Catholic Church,” the archbishop said.

Other Catholic religious and state leaders expressing their sadness and paying tribute to Pope Francis included Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB. He said the pope will be remembered as a man of “simplicity, humility and compassion.”

“The sad news of the death of Pope Francis, while it does not come as a surprise given his age and his declining health in recent years, will be received with great sadness by Catholics, and by people of good will, all over the world,” Archbishop Costelloe said in a statement.

“When Cardinal Bergoglio appeared on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square on 14 March 2013, and was introduced to the world as the newly-elected Pope Francis, his simplicity and humility set the tone for a papacy which would be marked by an emphasis on the mercy and compassion of God, and on the church’s vocation to be a sign and bearer of that merciful love in an increasingly troubled world.”

Cardinal Mykola Bychok CSsR, enroute to the Holy Land for a pilgrimage, said the news Pope Francis had ended his earthly pilgrimage filled him with “much sadness.”

“This sadness is our human reaction to the death of a much-loved father,” he said in a statement.

Recalling his elevation to the College of Cardinals last December, Cardinal Bychok said he now prayed that Pope Francis may intercede before Christ for the people of Australia and Ukraine “and that God may grant me the grace to live my mission as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.”

Listing some of the ways Pope Francis imparted his own personal character on the church over the last 12 years, Cardinal Bychok said he had been a pope of peace.

“In a world devastated by war he called for peace and justice,” he said.

“I am grateful for the late Holy Father’s frequent appeals for a just peace in Ukraine and for the efforts of the Holy See that he oversaw, known and secret, that in some way helped bring relief to the imprisoned and suffering.”

The cardinal asked for prayers from all Catholics and people of good will for the eternal repose of the late Holy Father and for all the Cardinal Electors who will soon meet in a conclave “that the Holy Spirit may enlighten our hearts and minds that we may choose a worthy candidate as the 267th Bishop of Rome and Successor of St Peter.”

Wollongong Bishop Brian Mascord said Pope Francis’ warmth, sense of humour, and ability to connect with people from all walks of life made him a beloved figure around the world.

Pope Francis: A pope of mercy, of the peripheries, and of synodality

“As we grieve the loss of our Holy Father, we also look forward with hope and faith. We pray for the repose of his soul and ask God to grant him eternal rest,” Bishop Mascord said.

“We also pray for the College of Cardinals as they prepare to elect his successor, that the Holy Spirit guide them in choosing a new leader for our Church who will continue to build upon the foundation laid by Pope Francis and those who came before him.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had attended Easter Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral early on Sunday, paid tribute to Pope Francis and said all Commonwealth flags would fly at half-mast across government buildings on Tuesday 22 April as a mark of respect.

While for Australian Catholics the Pope was a “devoted champion and a loving father,” both Catholics and non-Catholics would mourn him, the Prime Minister said.

“Today, the prayers of more than a billion people – from all nations and every walk of life – go with Pope Francis to his rest.

“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’.”

Includes additional reporting by Tara Kennedy

Shortly before 10am in Rome on Easter Monday, 21 April, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had died at 7.35am.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta, saying, “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” Vatican News reported.

“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on 14 February for shortness of breath. He had returned to his Casa Santa Marta home to continue his recovery after a 38-day stay for treatment of bilateral pneumonia and infections.

More to come

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