Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ, has described His Holiness, Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday, as “an advocate for peace, justice and equality around the world”.

The former president message was contained in a condolence message to the Nigerian Catholic Church and the Christian community around the world, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

GEJ, as he is fondly called, noted that Pope Francis, though Head of the Catholic Church, was a religious leader whose influence extended beyond the Catholic faith to the global world.

The condolence message reads:

"I offer my deepest condolences to the Nigerian Catholic Church and the Christian community around the world on the passing of His Holiness, Pope Francis, who was the head of the Catholic Church.

"Pope Francis was a religious leader whose impact transcended the pulpit to many other spheres of humanity. He was an advocate for peace, justice and equality around the world.

"Pope Francis' death, a day after offering Easter sermon, speaks of his dedication to service and commitment to faith and service.

"Even in his struggling moments he stayed true to his faith and commitment to his purpose of preaching peace and justice and love across the world.

"As we reflect on the vacuum created by his departure, may his life of faith, dedication and service to God continue to inspire us all."

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, on December 17, 1936, passed away on April 21, 2025, at age 88. He was the Head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013 until his death, and was the first Pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first Latin American, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside of Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

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