Catholics in Jerusalem mourn ‘great’ ex-pope Benedict

Church bells tolled for the death of ex-pope Benedict XVI in Jerusalem’s Old City, where Catholics revere their “great” former pontiff.

Standing before the ancient stones of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus was buried, seminarian Matteo Sassano says he has been praying for the retired pope, who died on Saturday.

“Pope Benedict was a great pope… also, a great companion of Pope Francis,” says Sassano, 33, from Italy.

The death of Benedict, nearly a decade after his shock resignation, ends a remarkable era in which he and his successor lived alongside one another within the Vatican walls.

Veronica Orzelek, 23, says people in her home country of Poland will “absolutely” be in mourning.

The German-born pontiff was seen as “a signature kind of character” in Poland, Orzelek says on the cobbled Saint Francis Street.

Don Faller, an American visitor, says he “more or less” agreed with Benedict’s traditionalist approach, which drew criticism from some within the church.

“It’s a continuation of old-style Catholicism which is very conservative,” says the 65-year-old, praising the late pope as “a peaceful man.”