'We feel a real sense of loss over Pope's death'

The death of Pope Francis has led to a sense of personal loss which was felt by everyone, the Archbishop of Birmingham has said.

Archbishop Bernard Longley said he was shocked at the news but also "extremely grateful for everything that we've received from him."

In 2019, at a mass in Rome, the Pope declared theologian and poet Cardinal John Henry Newman, who died in Birmingham in 1890, a saint. The Archbishop had met the Pope on several occasions and said he was always "so natural and really friendly".

The Pope died on Easter Monday morning at the age of 88, a day after he appeared at St Peter's Square in Rome.

The Birmingham archdioces encompases Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of Oxfordshire.

On his first official visit to meet the Pope, Archbishop Longley said: "He spent two and a half hours with us just listening to our concerns replying to us and engaging in a real conversation.

"And that was so heartening to know the pastor who leads the Catholic Church has a deep understanding of all the different issues right across the church's life and membership.

"Having seen those scenes yesterday, and with a real hope in our hearts that he was on the road to recovery, to hear that our Lord the Risen Christ has come to take him this Eastertide, my prayer is that he now enjoys the company of the Saints in the Kingdom.

"But there's a real sense of personal loss that all of us are feeling."

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, said in a statement: "Everyone who met Pope Francis during these past twelve years will remember his urgent request 'Please, pray for me.'"

Sureena Brackenridge, the MP for Wolverhampton North East MP, also expressed her sorrow.

"He was seen as a great leader of the Church and meant a great deal to the global Catholic Communion," she said.

"My thoughts are with the Catholic Community in Wolverhampton and Willenhall."

The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, spoke of the Pope's "embrace of incusion" and "devotion to his ministry".

"Pope Francis's attention to the sick, the marginalised and the poor, placing them in the spotlight of Christ's love will be for me a defining memory of his Pontificate.

"His embrace of inclusion for those people has been inspirational and exemplary and deserves to be his legacy."

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