Argentinians are mourning the death of their compatriot Pope Francis, who served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires and was known for working with the poor in the city before ascending to the top of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Argentinian government has announced seven days of mourning for Francis, who died on Monday at age 88.
“As Argentinians, we are orphaned,” street sweeper Javier Languenari told the AFP news agency outside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral early on Monday. “He endured as much as he could.”
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian parents, Francis became the first Latin American pontiff in 2013 after his predecessor Pope Benedict stepped down.
As he navigated the church through controversies, Francis emphasised compassion for the less fortunate.
“The pope of the poor has left us, the pope of the marginalised,” Jorge Garcia Cuerva, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, said on Monday.
“He insisted on building bridges, he insisted that we live in universal brotherhood. The pope was our father, the father of the poor, the father of mercy. The best tribute we Argentinians can pay to Francis is to unite.”
Argentinian President Javier Melei – who previously clashed with Francis and called him an “imbecile” and “the representative of evil on Earth” – also paid tribute to the late pope.
“Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honour for me,” Milei wrote on X.
“I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us today dealing with this sad news.”
Melei’s right-wing libertarianism was at odds with Francis’s message of empathy and embrace of social justice causes.
Still, Francis phoned Melei to congratulate him after his election victory in 2023, and the Argentinian president visited the pope last year, hailing what he described as their “positive relationship”.
On Monday, former Argentinian President Mauricio Macri called the pope a religious figure of “unparalleled stature”.
“His life was marked by the teachings he gave through his words, his commitment, and his actions,” Macri wrote in a social media post. “He himself, through his career, is a lesson for everyone.”
Reporting from Buenos Aires, Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo noted that many were unhappy that Francis never visited Argentina while pope, even though he visited other countries on the continent.
“He never made it to Argentina, and for many, there was a political message there. He did not want to be used politically,” she said.
Bo said Argentinians took pride in Francis when he was first elected pope, but his embrace of progressive causes – including allowing priests to bless same-sex couples – made him a “polarising figure” and angered traditionalists in the church.
“Even though the most progressive people in this country liked that message against injustice, against inequality, against capitalism, among other things, many others did not like that,” Bo said.
Regardless, Bo added, his death will be felt across the country.
“For many of the people I have spoken to, he was a man who tried to open up the church, who spoke about inclusiveness and humility, and that’s something many people in this country will remember,” she said.
Buenos Aires resident Nicolas Cordoba told the Reuters news agency that the pope’s death will “really leave a mark of pain in people’s hearts”.
In a politically divided Argentina, some recalled the late pope’s call for the country to come together.
“Francis’s message was always for us to unite, to reach out to those most in need,” Agustin Hartridge, a 41-year-old lawyer, told AFP.
“That candle I lit is a tribute to all he taught us.”
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