Seated among world leaders, Governor-General was struck by message she hoped they all received
Rome: Governor-General Sam Mostyn hopes Pope Francis's legacy will inspire a global recommitment to peace and compassion, saying the world needs leaders grounded in humility, mercy and courage.
Speaking after representing Australia at both Francis's funeral in Vatican City and Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli, Mostyn said the rare convergence of the two solemn events had prompted deep reflection on global leadership and the moral clarity it demands.
'[The pope] showed that it is possible to be a great world leader but always act with compassion and concern for those that are often marginalised and left out,' she said. 'His life, to his church and to his faith, was grounded in humility and care for others.'
World leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentine President Javier Milei attended the funeral Mass, underscoring the pontiff's global influence amid ongoing international conflicts.
Initially intended as a modest tribute, the funeral transformed into a significant diplomatic event, with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding a private meeting in the basilica, marking their first face-to-face encounter since their Oval Office blow-up in February.
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Mostyn and her husband, Simeon Beckett, were among the 250,000 gathered in St Peter's Square to farewell the Pope. She said the service, staged on a warm, cloudless Roman morning, was marked not by grandeur but by the quiet dignity that defined the Pope's life.
'There was a solemnity and serenity to the Mass and a beauty in every aspect of the event ... It felt appropriate for the celebration of this Pope's life,' she said. 'There was something extraordinary about all of us in that moment. To be there in person is something I will never forget.'
For Mostyn, a longtime student of leadership across sectors, the significance of Francis's final actions carried particular weight.
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