Middle East leaders express deep sorrow over death of Pope Francis – Middle East Monitor

Leaders across the Middle East region paid tribute to Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88, Anadolu news agency reported.

Pope Francis, who made history as the first Jesuit and first Latin American pontiff, died after battling an illness described by Vatican officials as a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” associated with thrombocytopenia.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi mourned the pontiff, describing him as “an exceptional…