Pope Francis 'touched many people's lives'

Jersey's most senior Catholic leader has paid tribute to the "humility and simplicity" of Pope Francis ahead of his funeral later.

Both Guernsey and Jersey held special services on Friday evening to remember Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday after appearing at an Easter Sunday mass in St Peter's Square.

His funeral will be held at 09:00 BST in front of St Peter's Basilica.

Canon Dominic Golding, Dean of Jersey, said Catholics in the island felt gratitude for the pontiff's leadership, which he said had "touched many people's lives".

The next Pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals, who will gather for a tradition known as the conclave.

Canon Golding said he wanted a leader who "encourages us to have respect of each other's positions but holds firm to the things that unite us".

"I pray that we have leader who is open to everybody, who doesn't seek to take sides, because I think in the world of today it can easily become too polarised," he said.

The Catholic Dean of Guernsey, Canon Christopher Rutledge, had said of Pope Francis: "I think he will be remembered as a man who had a great simplicity of life.

"He chose not to live in the Vatican apartment. He lived in three rooms, I gather, in a papal guesthouse.

"But above all he was a man who had a great heart for others."

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