King Charles has said he and Queen Camilla have “heavy hearts” after Pope Francis’s death, as they paid tribute to his “compassion” and “tireless commitment” to people of faith.
In a statement, the King said that though “deeply saddened”, their sorrow had been “somewhat eased” by the Pope being able to share an Easter greeting with the world on Sunday, before he died aged 88.
The King and Camilla met the pontiff on a state visit to Italy earlier this month, which the couple said they remembered with “particular affection”.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, echoed the King’s comments, saying the Pope’s death “brings great sadness to so many”.
The King and Queen’s state visit to the Vatican in early April had been cancelled because of the Pope’s poor health, but they managed to visit him privately during their trip to Italy.
The meeting was arranged at the last minute and took place on 9 April – the King and Queen’s 20th wedding anniversary – with the pontiff wishing them a happy anniversary.
In his tribute, the King said: “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.”
He said he and the Queen “remember with particular affection” their meetings with the Pope over the years and “were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month”.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols described the Pope as “a voice proclaiming the innate dignity of every human being, especially those who are poor or marginalised”.
At a mass at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening, he said while there was a “sadness of loss”, there remained a “confidence of faith and hope”.
“His voice so often called us not to optimism, but to renewed effort to protect those who were without hope, who could see no way forward,” he said.
“He was sharply critical of all who ignored the wellbeing of so many and held them to be of no significance in their calculations and actions.”
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, currently the most senior Church of England priest, described the Pope as a “holy man of God” who was “also very human”.
“Francis’s whole life and ministry was centred on Jesus who comes among us not to be served, but to serve,” he added.
Also paying tribute, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the Pope’s leadership of the Catholic Church as “courageous” and coming from a “place of deep humility”.
“Pope Francis was a pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten,” Sir Keir said.
“He was close to the realities of human fragility, meeting Christians around the world facing war, famine, persecution and poverty.
“Yet he never lost the faith-fuelled hope of a better world.”
Pope Francis had resumed some official duties earlier this month during his recovery from double pneumonia.
He made his first public appearance since becoming ill on 6 April, when he appeared in St Peter’s Square in a wheelchair during a special jubilee mass for the sick following his discharge from hospital two weeks previously.
In his final address on Easter Sunday, read out by a member of the clergy, the Pope reiterated his frequent call for peace, saying it could not be achieved without “freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others”.
Pope Francis’s death sets into motion the process for the Church to select a new leader, who is elected by 135 cardinals.
Cardinal Nichols is among those expected to travel to Rome in the coming days as a period of mourning gets under way ahead of the Pope’s funeral and the conclave meeting to elect his successor.
There are four cardinals based in the UK but only three – Cardinal Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome-based Cardinal Arthur Roche – are younger than 80 and therefore of voting age.
Speaking at a news conference, Cardinal Nichols and Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe both appeared to rule themselves out of becoming the next Pope.
Cardinal Radcliffe, 79, a theologian and former master of the worldwide Dominican Order, said the Holy Spirit “is far too wise to even think of me for the shortest moment”.
Cardinal Nichols, who will be 80 in November, said he is “too old, not capable”.
The next Pope must be someone of great inner strength and peace, he added.
Cardinal Radcliffe said he was struck by Pope Francis’s “profound desire to make everybody seem welcome”.
“This is one of his phrases, he would say ‘all are welcome, todos, todos, todos’, because he believed the church should be a universal home,” he said.