NEWSROOMS across the UK will today be trying to find local connections to Pope Francis, following the announcement of the sad news this morning that he has died, because it needs to be relevant to the patch.

Obviously he had been quite ill for a while and he certainly looked quite frail during yesterday’s final public appearance by the Pontiff in a wheelchair at St Peter’s Square to lead the annual Easter address in front of thousands of worshipers.

I have to admit that I have a lot of time for him as he seemed to genuinely care for the poorest in society and shunned a lot of the trappings and privileges that traditionally go with the role.

The former Pope, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was originally elected in 2013. In a statement which was published by the Vatican earlier today (Monday, April 21) Cardinal Kevin Farrell said: “This morning at 07:35 local time (05:35 GMT) the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was devoted in service to the Lord and His Church.

“He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.

“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”

Local connections that newspapers, websites and broadcast organisations may use include tributes from local people, such as religious leaders and politicians, or it may be that journalists have contacts of residents who are originally from Argentina.

I remember when I was working at the Scunthorpe Telegraph in April 2005 Pope John Paul II had also been ill and, as I was working over the weekend, I was asked to speak with members of the town’s strong Polish community to pay tribute if his death was announced.

He was originally from Poland himself and the local Polish residents held him in high regard. It made for what I feel was a nice tribute that was published in that Monday’s edition of the paper. To read a copy of the original article click on the link below.

Related article: Proud of our Polish Pope