Vigils, tributes and special services of mass have been held across Europe as faithfuls mourn following the death of the late Pope Francis.
In Italy, bells tolled in church towers and flags were lowered to half-staff on government buildings in Rome.
In France, an Evening Mass was held at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, during which worshippers paid homage to the pontiff during a prayer vigil.
Families attending the evening mass lit candles and placed them in front of a large photograph of the Pope.
The Notre Dame bells also rang out 88 times to mark the years in the Pope’s life, while the Eiffel Tower went dark in tribute to Francis.
In Madrid, mass was held at the Almudena Cathedral where some of those attending spoke of the late pontiff, who died earlier on Monday, and said he would be greatly missed and leave a lasting legacy.
“To us, the Pope represents a memory of love and inclusion. As young people, he marked a turning point in the Church. He was a pope we loved dearly and we will remember him with deep affection,” said Sara Ruiz, a teaching assistant in a local Catholic school.
Missionary nun, Miriam Blanco also spoke of Francis’ legacy, saying “it’s a very beautiful memory and the legacy that he leaves us as Holy Father – truth, his simplicity, his closeness, I think it has been very, very good and we are going to miss him a lot.”
Meanwhile, Vatican flags have been raised in Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria, where worshippers echoed similar sentiments.
In the small town of Szécsény in Hungary, local residents gathered near the Franciscan church and monastery.
“He was a simple, puritanical man who had tried to bring this to the church as well, rather with less success. Of course, today the pope has relatively little power and voice. Whatever he said, unfortunately, the world did not want to listen to him,” said Lajos Vámosi, a local resident of the town.
Mourners also gathered around the Catholic Cathedral in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, to pay their respects to the late Pope.
“I think one great man has left us. One great man of church, God and the people. This is hard for us. We feel very sorry. I believe he will pray for us from paradise, in the same way that he prayed for us on earth. He was working for everyone, poor or rich,” said Sister Antonija Grubisic, a catholic nun.
Catholics in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia lit candles in the city’s Cathedral, where Monsignor Rumen Stanev said Francis “had a profound affinity for those who are marginalised and abandoned.”
“Like Jesus in the Gospels, he walked among sinners, the outcast, and the weak.”
ADVERTISEMENTIn the UK too, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, celebrated a Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening, in honour of Pope Francis.
Flags were also flown at half mast across the capital to mark the Pope’s death.
