Pope Francis has died at the age of 88.
The Vatican says the Pontiff passed away at 25 to 8 this morning, local time.
He was admitted to hospital in February and spent five-weeks undergoing respiratory treatment.
The President, Taoiseach and Tánaiste are among those paying tribute.
Speaking to KCLR News, Bishop of Ossory Niall Coll reminisced on meeting the pontiff in Rome.
“About a year and a half ago, we were in Rome, and presented to the Pope, and funnily enough, when I said to him that I was Irish, he immediately responded ‘Irlanda sempre verde’, Ireland, always green.”
He continued by stating that “He told me that he had very pleasant memories of Ireland, because you know as a young man, he had spent some time in Ireland and in Dublin learning English, I think he spent maybe a month in the country, he spotted and remembered our verdant landscape anyway, Ireland always green.”
Francis is being remembered as a more liberal Church leader, being the first Pope to call for the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships, and calling for peace and an end to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Francis also visited Ireland in 2018, the first papal visit since 1979, at which time he met with survivors of clerical abuse in Ireland, and discussed the issue with then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Francis’ final public appearance occured just yesterday – wishing crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square a Happy Easter.
And you can listen to Bishop of Ossory Niall Coll’s full interview with KCLR here:
