Fermanagh and Omagh District Council opens online Book of Condolence in memory of Pope Francis

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has learned with sadness of the death of Pope Francis, on Monday 21 April 2025 at the age of 88.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis was ordained as a priest in 1969.  He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, was made a Cardinal in 2001 and elected Pope in 2013. Throughout his public life Pope Francis was noted for his humility, his concern for the poor and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths.

The Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor John McClaughry, said, “As Chair of the Council, I have opened an online Book of Condolence to facilitate residents who wish to express their sympathy and thoughts on the death of Pope Francis.

I am conscious that many from our District will have attended the services led by the late Pope during his visit to Ireland in 2018 as part of the World Meeting of Families, and others will visited Rome during his papacy.  His death, during this Easter season, is particularly poignant and his passing will be keenly felt by very many people in our Council District and indeed the world over.”

The online book of condolence will be open on the Council’s website from today, 21 April to Friday 9 May 2025.