Andy Burnham: 'The loss of Pope Francis hit me harder than I expected'
Paying tribute to the late pontiff on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this morning (April 27), the Greater Manchester mayor seemed 'genuinely' emotional as he described meeting Pope Francis as the 'most memorable and moving experience' of his life.
The Labour mayor met the late leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2023 as part of a delegation from Greater Manchester.
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During the visit to the Vatican, Mr Burnham presented Pope Francis with a signed Lisandro Martinez Manchester United shirt.
Mr Burnham later revealed that it was a gift from the footballer dubbed 'the Butcher' who, like the late Pope, is from Argentina.
The Greater Manchester mayor paid tribute to the late Pope, posting a statement on X ahead of his funeral on Saturday (April 26).
"The loss of Pope Francis hit me harder than I expected"Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham says meeting the Pope was the "most moving" experience of his life#BBCLauraK https://t.co/g7glGowdj3 pic.twitter.com/mgPWrlO1oI
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) April 27, 2025
Appearing on her show the next day, presenter Laura Kuenssberg said she could tell Mr Burnham's emotions were 'really genuine'.
The Greater Manchester mayor said: "To be honest, the loss of Pope Francis hit me harder than I expected.
"He was certainly the most relevant and relatable Pope of my life and the one who seemed to live the Catholic Social Teaching that I learnt about in school so he really connected.
"I had the good fortune to meet him with a Greater Manchester delegation. It was the most memorable and moving experience of my life.
"It was profoundly moving and all of us felt that who were there with him because he connected with every single person in the room. It was something to experience.
"The thing is, I think the world's lost a really important voice and the reason is, we're living in a time when big tech is monetising hate through social media platforms and then you've got political and religious leaders almost playing along with that and polarising people and firing up their bases.
"That's why he was such an important voice in speaking for the poor, the marginalised, the underdog. That's what he did.
"And he was also about deeds not words - he lived it as well. So few people do that these days.
"So I just hope that those leaders gathered yesterday in St Peter's Square reflected - perhaps they did when he see some of the images.
"Perhaps they reflected on why Pope Francis was so popular around the world and respected."
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