Religious leaders mourn pontiff

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor prayed for the Pope

The leader of England and Wales' Roman Catholics has hailed the Pope as one of the greatest pontiffs in history as UK churchgoers mourn his death aged 84.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said: "We have lost a great leader of the modern world... one of the great popes in the church's 2,000-year history."

Special services are to be held at churches across Britain on Sunday.

Jewish and Muslim community leaders also paid tribute to the pontiff.

The Pope visited the UK in May 1982 on a six-day tour, including a Mass at Westminster Cathedral and a meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

We will remember him for his endurance of suffering, even until the very end Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor paid his tribute to the Pope on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, which remained open throughout Saturday night.

He said people would remember him "for his witness to hope and the dignity of human life".

"We will remember him for his endurance of suffering, even until the very end and we will remember him for reminding us that this world is not the only world. There is a world of our eternal destiny," he added.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool offered a Mass for the pontiff on Saturday at the city's Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

He said that a "wonderful life" had ended, adding: "Although it is a sad day, I also feel a sense of gladness. A good and faithful servant has carried out an accomplished task."

The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, said: "One of the most telling phases of his life was the last five years or so when he struggled with ill-health, immobility and dependence.

A man of extraordinary faith, courage and compassion Muslim Council of Britain

"So many would have quietly withdrawn from the public eye. Many wanted him to. But not this man. He was determined to live his life in God's hand."

At Bristol's Catholic Clifton Cathedral, sung Requiem Masses will be celebrated on Sunday.

The Bishop of Clifton, Right Reverend Declan Lang, said of the late pope: "Above all he believed in the dignity of the individual and the value of human life from its beginning in the womb to the moment of death".

'Healing' moment

The Muslim Council of Britain offered its condolences to those mourning the pope, saying he was "a man of extraordinary faith, courage and compassion".

Iqbal Sacranie, the council's secretary-general, said the late pope's message of peace and goodwill would have "a special resonance in the shipyards of Poland, the slums of Latin America, the towns and villages of Africa and the Palestinian refugee camps".

Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks said the Pope's pilgrimage to the Western Wall in Jerusalem was "one of the great healing moments of our time".