In Vietnamese churches, public memorial services are being held for the pontiff. On behalf of the communist authorities, a government official burnt incense in his memory at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference. No cardinal from this lively and courageous Church will be at the conclave, but everyone remembers Francis’s suggestion that his successor will certainly go to Vietnam.

Cardinal Re led the service in the parvis of St Peter’s. “Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us,” he said. The conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy inside the basilica was the highlight of the political side of the event. The presence of heads of state and government from Asia and the Middle East was significant. The bishops of mainland China sent a message of condolence, which the Xinhua news agency mentioned without citing the text.

The meeting in 2017 in Bangladesh with a delegation of one million exiles from Myanmar was one of the most touching moments in the pontiff's trip. He often remembered that embrace in the following years. “Pope Francis was a beacon of hope for the marginalised, a voice for the voiceless, and a man whose humility touched hearts across all boundaries,” Peter Saiful told AsiaNews. Fr Josim, a tribal convert to Christianity whom the pontiff ordained a priest in Dhaka, was told: “Your hands are holy. Use these hands for holy work.”

The pontiff's death has a special echo in the special autonomous region where Catholicism is deeply rooted. His call to be “a poor Church for the poor” prompted local Catholics to develop services for migrant workers and the elderly. The agreement with Beijing on episcopal appointments was “a step toward greater progress in evangelisation”.

With all his soul, the pope wished to rescue the face of Russia's "mad holiness", that of its monks and pilgrims, its great artists and musicians, its writers capable of opening horizons of true universal union. That is why he often quoted Dostoevsky. Now, in his death, he promises us that in this inextricable inner struggle between good and evil, the face of Christ is always revealed in the human soul.

For days, Catholics and non-Catholics alike have been paying tribute to Pope Francis. A ‘national day of mourning’ has been declared to coincide with the funeral. Cardinal Ranjith recalls the support given to the victims of the Easter massacre. For President Dissanayake, he was an example of ‘compassion, justice and interreligious harmony’ for all the people.

In a letter, women of different faiths and nationalities (including many from Asia) express “respect and gratitude” for the pontiff who recognised their "vital role”. In the meeting in the Vatican in January 2023, he urged them to rediscover the “feminine aspects" in every religion. His memory is a blessing and a call to continue to build a world in which everyone is listened to, valued, and empowered.

A source talked to AsiaNews about how Chinese Catholics are coping with Francis’s death. Remarks and pictures abound on local social media. “Amid the sorrow and mourning, the joy of announcing love prevailed,” as “a spontaneous explosion, not very cautious, but conscious that death and fear are not the last word.” An elderly lady and the Pope shared an “impossible dream”: she wanted to visit the Vatican, while he wanted to visit China.

On a visit to the archbishop’s residence, the president bowed three times before the pope’s picture. A Taiwanese delegation will travel to Vatican City led by former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, a Catholic. Meanwhile, three days after the pontiff’s death, the Patriotic Association posts a statement on his death, calling for prayers.

Civil and religious leaders have paid homage to the memory of the Argentinean pontiff. Under his leadership, the Church completed the efforts begun by predecessors to bring Islam and Christianity closer together in the face of escalating fundamentalism. From the banking crisis to the explosion at the port of Beirut, the pope's closeness in the face of the great tragedies in the country's recent history.

The Chaldean Patriarch spoke to AsiaNews about the late pope on the eve of his departure for Rome to attend the pontiff's funeral and the conclave. Francis was a "prophetic" voice that spoke not only to Christians, but to all Iraqis. His historic trip in March 2021 and the message of peace and brotherhood are his legacy. He “was able to read and grasp the signs of the times better than anyone else.”

Some of the pilgrims and onlookers in Rome paying homage to Bergoglio's coffin are from Asia, from Mumbai and Seoul to Hanoi and Shanghai. Believers and non-believers spoke to AsiaNews about their presence in the Vatican to witness this historic moment. “We are Hindus but [. . .] it was important to be here.” “He will be remembered by Koreans for a long time.” Unable to see him in Singapore, others are now in Rome as pilgrims.

The 12 years of Francis’s pontificate were marked by 13 trips in Asia, from the first visit to South Korea to the long journey last September to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. During this time, his message of peace and hope strengthened the ties between the Church and various Asian cultures.

The pontiff was among the few voices in the world to constantly remember this Southeast Asian country torn apart by a war that has now lasted for more than four years. In 2017, at a time of great political and economic openness, Francis visited Myanmar, bringing hope to believers of all religions. A memorial Mass was held for him in Yangon cathedral yesterday.

From Calcutta, the superior of Mother Teresa's sisters remembers Pope Francis. ‘He made the Church refocus its attention on the marginalised’. Bergoglio wanted the Missionaries of Charity to open a new home in Bajo Flores, a slum in his hometown in Argentina. His last meeting with them was the day before he was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital: ‘He told us: thank you for your vocation.’

The Archbishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi expresses the deep sorrow of Catholics and non-Catholics in the country. The ‘courage’ to bring people who are often ‘discarded’ to the ‘front line’. From interreligious harmony to ecological issues, gestures that are ‘testimony to his deep commitment to unity’. Looking ahead to the next conclave, so that ‘the Holy Spirit may guide the cardinals’.

From Jakarta, moderate Islamic movements and political leaders express their sadness for the death of the pontiff, a man of great stature for the faithful of other religions as well. Signing the document on Fraternity with Grand Imam of al-Azhar was a high point. For the bishops of Indonesia, which he visited last September, the pope’s values of love, solidarity, and partiality for the marginalised are “timeless”.

Giorgio Licini, a PIME missionary, accompanied the pontiff on last year's trip to a distant frontier mission. “Francis’s lesson was to look inside ourselves before pointing the finger at atheists, the media or technological civilisation,” because “A pilgrim does not have a programme, but a goal.”

Answering a journalist's question, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson praised “constructive contacts and engaged in useful exchanges” between China and the Holy See. But, in the name of sinicisation, the reference is to state-to-state relations, not the local Catholic community. The presence of Chinese bishops at Francis’s funeral is an open question.

The archbishop emeritus of Bombay talks about the pontiff who picked him to be the face of Asia in the Council of Cardinals. He participated in all the meetings, inviting the cardinals “to discuss, to differ and to argue.” He was a person of “deep faith” who “preached the Gospel undiluted.” “He would say 'why be afraid of death?'  'The Lord needs me here, the Lord wants me here and the moment the Lord does not want me he will take me away’.”

In a reflection sent to AsiaNews, the Vicar of Arabia describes the pontiff as a ‘concrete presence’ for Christians in the region. The 2019 apostolic journey, the birth of the House of Abraham and the signing of the document on fraternity. A universal fraternity that welcomes differences as a gift and a treasure, the encyclical Laudato sì and regret at the failure to participate in COP28.

Proclaiming the Gospel was his top priority: he reminded us that mission is about joy, that its territories are not defined by geography or people's religious affiliation. Through his life and teaching, he taught us that Jesus' missionaries do not ask themselves how to get others to follow them, but how they can reach others.

Patriarch Kirill recalls the historic meeting in Cuba in 2016 and Francis' desire to “heal the wounds of conflict”. Putin's tribute: “A consistent defender of the great values of humanism and justice”. Orthodox writer Andrei Lorgus: ‘His death on Easter has a special meaning for the whole Christian world’.

The Xinde Catholic website has widely reported Francis’s death. So far, no word has come from President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government, nor the Patriotic Association. The Diocese of Hong Kong remembers the pontiff’s trip to Mongolia and his attention for relations between the Vatican and China.

For Indian Prime Minister Modi, the pontiff “was a beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage.” The President of Israel Isaac Herzog hopes “his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered.” Iran also offered its condolences. “Until the end,” he “showed the world a beautiful example,” South Korean bishops write. A Mass of suffrage will be held on Wednesday morning at the Holy Sepulchre.

One of the great signs of the pontificate that ended this morning with the death of Pope Francis is his care for the peripheries of the world. The archbishop of Hyderabad, the first Dalit called to join the College of Cardinals in 2022, pays tribute to the late pontiff who “looked each person in the eye, not as a number, but as a soul beloved by God.”

The pontiff died suddenly this morning at 7:35 am. Card Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity and Camerlengo of the Church, made the announcement. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.” His last Urbi et Orbi message came yesterday.