Kildare Bishop mourns late Pope Francis

The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin has paid tribute to the late Pope Francis, whose death was announced earlier today (Easter Monday, April 21).

Bishop Denis Nulty, who was notably appointed to the role by the late Pope Francis himself back in 2013, made the comments in a post on X, after an Irish-born cardinal, Kevin Farrell, made the initial announcement that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88.

Speaking about the late Pope Francis, Bishop Nulty said in his post: "Lord rest Pope Francis. All of us in KANDLEi hugely mourn his passing on this Easter Monday morning."

In the further context of Ireland, President Michael D Higgins also paid tribute to the late Pope Francis.

He said: "As President of Ireland, may I join with all those across the world, from their different stations in life, who have expressed such profound sadness on learning of the death of Pope Francis.

"Pope Francis, in his important messages and in the presentation of his papacy with a unique humility, sought to show in the most striking and moving of ways the extraordinary importance of the spiritual as a powerful source of global ethics in the challenges of contemporary life."

In addition, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to the late Pope Francis.

In particular, An Taoiseach noted: "During his visit to Ireland, many will also remember Pope Francis’s expression of pain and shame about historic child abuse in the Catholic Church, and his outrage about the failure of Church authorities to adequately address these appalling crimes.”

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