Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher from Saint Mary’s Cathedral has told 9News that his initial reaction to hearing of Pope Francis’ death was “a mixture of grief and gratitude”.
“Grief, because we’ve been very used to this pope. We’ve had him for 12 years now, and he’s done so much good for our church and our world. But gratitude also that we had him until he was 88. It’s now clear he’s been dying the last month or so, and that we had that little bit extra of him,” the archbishop said.
“This Pope was a very easy one to talk to. He was very informal. And he would joke with you and even tease you. But there were many sides to him.
“I have a very special memory of his care for me. When I was there in Rome for a meeting just after my mother had died…As soon as he met me, he said, ‘My condolences on the death of your mum’. Now that he even knew that she had die – he would meet a thousand people a day – that he made the point of expressing his concern for me and his prayers for my mum was very moving at the time, and I think that’s an example of the Pope as a pastor. He was first and foremost a Christian and a priest who rose very high in the church.”