Pope died at 7.37 am

The NZ Herald reports the Pope died at 7.37 am NZST.

He has been the third longest reigning Pontiff in history. For most of my life he has been the Pope. Last year when I visisted St Paul’s basilica in Rome I took in the etchings of all 200+ popes from St Peter to John Paul II – an amazing basically unbroken line.

Even though my upbrininging is more Anglican, I have always regarded the Pope as not only the actual head of the 1.1 billion Catholics, but also the de facto head of all Christian denominations, bringing the number to over two billion.

Just as with Reagan’s death, it is very sad to see the giant figures of our time pass away.