The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added its voice to the condolences pouring in Monday from around the world in the wake Pope Francis’ death the day after Christians celebrated their holiest day, Easter.
“His courageous and compassionate leadership has blessed countless lives,” the governing First Presidency of the Utah-based faith said in a news release. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to all who looked to him for inspiration and counsel. As the world pauses to remember his example of forgiveness and service, we feel deep gratitude for the goodness of a life well lived and rejoice in the hope of a glorious resurrection made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”
The release pointed to a historic 2019 meeting in which church President Russell M. Nelson huddled with Francis for 33 minutes in the Vatican, the first time a top Latter-day Saint leader and a Catholic pope had ever met face to face.
“We had a most cordial, unforgettable experience,” Nelson said at the time. “...He as most gracious and warm and welcoming. What a sweet, wonderful man he is, and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving and capable leader.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint) At a conference on marriage at the Vatican on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, Pope Francis greeted religious leaders from around the world including Henry B. Eyring of the church's First Presidency.
In 2014, two Latter-day Saint apostles — Henry B. Eyring of the governing First Presidency and L. Tom Perry — joined religious leaders and scholars from 14 faiths and 23 countries in Rome for a three-day Vatican-sponsored “colloquium” titled titled “An International Interreligious Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman.”
At that time, the pontiff shook Eyring’s hand, a gesture believed to be the first such exchange between a pope and a leading Latter-day Saint authority.
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