On April 21 news broke that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. The news comes one day after the Pope delivered the Easter service and did a drive around in the Popemobile to the cheers of a large crowd who had gathered to celebrate the holiday. This would be his first public appearance following a lengthy hospital stay, and sadly his last.
Once news broke of Pope Francis' passing, world leaders began issuing statements to commemorate the holy man who served the Catholic Church since 2013. And of course, King Charles III was one of those leaders.
In a beautiful message shared to The Royal Family Instagram (and other social media platforms), King Charles shared that he and the queen were "deeply saddened" by this news. He also stated that, "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."
King Charles shared a poignant statement on the passing of Pope Francis
It was a poignant message from the King and one that many other world leaders seemed to echo in their own ways. This included reminiscing on their own visits with the late Pope. King Charles himself added in his statement about getting the opportunity to visit with Pope Francis, which is something he did April 10 while in Rome on a state visit that also coincided with his 20th wedding anniversary. And of course, this most recent visit was not the only time that the King visited with the late Pope, which is something he remembers fondly in his statement.
You can read King Charles III's statement on the passing of Pope Francis for yourself below:
The message that King Charles shared on the passing of the Pope was definitely quite touching in many ways, and was echoed across the world by so many other world leaders. It is clear that Pope Francis will be missed by many.