Churchgoers and religious figures in Bedford have paid tributes to Pope Francis following his death on Easter Monday. The head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State died at the age of 88 following a stroke and heart failure.

At a time when nationalism, a concept long held in contempt by Francis, is surging again in the West, the church now finds itself at a crossroads.

Among Pope Francis' last words were "thank you" to his personal nurse, for encouraging him to greet crowds in St. Peter's Square one last time.

The final call lasted 30 seconds. Just enough time to say hello and ask if everyone was okay. But for Gaza’s tiny Christian population, the phone call from Pope Francis was a ray of hope that shone through the horrors of war.

Members of Gaza's tiny Christian community said they were "heartbroken" on Monday at the death of Pope Francis, who campaigned for peace for the devastated enclave and spoke to them on the phone every evening throughout the war.

Pope Francis called to check in on a Christian congregation in Gaza sheltering at their church almost every night since the Gaza war began. "Today we feel like we are orphans," a spokesperson says.

Pope Francis was a "real game-changer" when it came to the Catholic Church's treatment of gay people, a London LGBT+ faith group has said.

Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, just over 12 years after assuming the papacy. He was 88. "Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta,

The pontiff’s death initiated a well-structured series of rituals designed to mourn the loss of the 1.3 billion-member church’s leader and to ensure stability with the selection of a new pope.