Have Your Say

The Hon. Michael McCormack statement on the death of Pope Francis (1939-2025)

26 April 2025

Pope Francis will be farewelled the way he lived his life … humbly, serenely and simply.
 
To visit the late Pontiff, 266th Head of the Roman Catholic Church, lying in state in Saint Peter’s Basilica, was to see a man, an inspirational world leader, whose earthly work had been done.
 
He looked very much at peace.
 
His casket was not at all ornate – just a mere wooden vessel in which his mortal remains will rest in eternity.
 
Pope Francis was all about compassion, humanity, kindness and forgiveness, who helped to take the Catholic Church on a path of modernisation without ever forgetting the traditions of this 2,000-year-old institution.
 

He would greet and meet his Cardinals informally, standing up, rather than from his Papal chair, which had been the usual custom of Popes past.
 
He was said to have preferred to catch the bus and be with his Cardinals, rather than travelling in the Papal limousine.
 
He was very much the People’s Pope – a man who embraced those from all walks of life, backgrounds and ethnicities.
 
To be asked to represent the Commonwealth Parliament and the people of Australia at such a sad, sombre yet significant occasion in world history is truly a deep honour.
 
The Pope represented faith, hope and peace in a troubled world and did it in a way that moved many people – those devout believers and many others too.
 
He leaves a large void in world religion but one which will be filled in due course in a careful, considered way by the Conclave of Cardinals, including one Australia regards very much as now our own, 45-year-old Mykola Bychok, a Ukrainian Greek prelate.
 
These will be challenging yet momentous times for the church as a new leader is chosen to take Catholics forward in an ever-changing world.
 
Requiem Mass service booklet: https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2025/20250426-libretto-esequie-sepoltura.pdf

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