Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has recalled the moment he handed Pope Francis a signed Manchester United shirt at the Vatican.
Mr Burnham visited the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2023 as part of a climate delegation from the region.
Speaking to News after the death of Pope Francis, aged 88, Mr Burnham said the shirt had been a gift from Argentinian Man Utd player Lisandro Martinez.
“[Martinez’s] pride in the Pope being from his own country was just obvious, and it was something of a moment to be able to hand over the gift in the heart of the Vatican,” Mr Burnham said.
Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936.
He was ordained as a priest in 1969 and became Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992.
He was elected as pontiff, taking the name Pope Francis, in 2013 after the previous pope, Benedict XVI, stood down.
Mr Burnham said he remembered the Pope’s face “lighting up” when he told him about the work that was being done to help homeless people in Greater Manchester.
He said Pope Francis had “nodded vigorously as if to say ‘Carry on with that, we want more of that'”.
“I hope the church builds on Pope Francis’s legacy and chooses a successor very much in his likeness,” Mr Burnham added.
Pope Francis had been unwell for some time, and was last seen in public on Easter Sunday, when he took part in a service at St Peter’s Basilica.
His Easter address was delivered by a member of the clergy. In it, he said: “There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others.”
Mr Burnham said Pope Francis “spoke for equality and compassion and for humanity, in a world where we see political leaders target minorities and marginalise people in the search for votes”.
He added: “He was a leader on the world stage, a voice we needed to hear.”
