Russian President Putin warmly praised Pope Francis and his life’s work, which included the late Pope’s unceasing fight to bring about peace.
On April 21 in Moscow responding to media questions, Putin replied to a reporter who asked him to comment on the Pope’s death, saying: “I met with him personally on many occasions, and we maintained relations via various channels. I want to emphasize once again that he had a highly positive attitude towards Russia. We will remember that.
“I am not sure about Catholics, but Orthodox people have such an understanding, such an internal tradition, a traditional understanding that if God calls a person to Heaven during Easter time, it is a special sign that that person has not lived his life in vain, has done a lot of good for the people, and God calls him to Heaven on these festive Easter days.
“I think this is the case. I mean that the Pope has done a lot of good not only for his flock, but for the world at large, as well.”
Putin travelled to the Vatican three times to meet with Pope Francis: in November 2013, only eight months after Francis was elevated to the Papacy; in 2015, and in 2019. During the last rendezvous they met for an hour, and discussed Ukraine, Syria, and Venezuela. Russian state media claimed that Putin called Francis every March to mark his ascension to the Papacy, reported U.S. National Public Radio yesterday.
Pope Francis was also in discussion with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. On February 12, 2016, they met at the José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, where they talked for two hours and released a 30-point statement, which contained a joint call by the two church leaders to end the persecution of Christians in Southwest Asia and the wars in the region, putting forward an intent that their meeting could assist the reinstatement of some form Christian cooperation and perhaps unity between the two churches. That was the first time that the leaders of the Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church had met in centuries.
