Charles Hewlett is the National Leader of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand. He attends Eastgate Christian Centre, a Baptist Church in Auckland.
On 21 April, Pope Francis died, aged 88, just a day after he made a public appearance in Vatican City. Charles Hewlett acknowledges “this incredible man” In the statement below.
On behalf of the Baptist Union of New Zealand, I want to express my deep condolences to Archbishop Paul Martin and the Catholic Church in New Zealand regarding the news of the passing of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis’ Christlike leadership was incredibly inspiring. He led with humility and deep compassion for those for whom life was hard. His legacy will continue to shape leaders and followers of Jesus for generations.
In recent years, I have enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside Archbishop Paul Martin as part of the New Zealand Church Leaders’ group. My thoughts and prayers are very much with him and the Catholic Church at this time.
Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash
