Midday mass churchgoers in Wellington want the next Pope to carry on the legacy of Pope Francis by helping those in need, while remaining politically savvy.
Pope Francis, 88, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest. New Zealand's only cardinal - Cardinal John Dew - is travelling to the Vatican in Rome to be part of the selection process with 135 cardinals from around the world.
Italian-New Zealander Teresa Mollo spoke to RNZ today about her connection to Pope Francis, saying he was very dear to her and her family.
"Especially to me because he was born in Argentina and I've got an aunty in Argentina in Buenos Aires, she met the Pope before he became a Pope, when he was a cardinal of Argentina.
"About nine years ago one of my cousin's granddaughters, she got blessed by the Pope... the Pope holding my little granddaughter of my cousin, so it's quite special for us," Mollo said.
She thought the next Pope should carry on the legacy of Pope Francis.
"I hope he looks for young people the younger generation in poverty because lots of the younger generation, they have no work especially in Europe," Mollo said.
Pope Francis in 2023. Photo: MASSIMO VALICCHIA / AFP
Mauricio Olivera agreed.
"More open to the reality and less clingy to the tradition of the church and everything that comes along with it, yet I fear that it will be more on the other side because the world has been recently showing our return to retrograde ways of seeing reality," Olivera said.
Joseph Herbulock - an American who has been living in New Zealand for the past five years - wanted to see the next Pope speak up about political affairs.
"I would like to see someone who would change the dialogue that Trump has created world wide where you're picking on people, you're a bully and I would like to see values that have been traditional expounded by the Pope whoever that might be. I'd still like to see a non-European, I'd like to see a person from Latin America, Asia or Africa," Herbulock said.
Sherly Hughes said the focus should be on bringing everyone to heaven and to do the will of God.
"For me the priority is to follow what Jesus asked for, to be a leader, a leader of all and following Jesus way.
"He tried to meet everybody in his way, it was controversial at times, but we live in that kind of a world today where the right is further right and the left is further left. It's a matter of combining the lot, we can't satisfy everybody and Jesus didn't answer every question either," Hughes said.
The Vicar for Māori for the Auckland Diocese and Te Ropu Māori chair Manuel Beazley will also be leaving Aotearoa tomorrow for the funeral in Rome.
He said there was a possibility the next Pope might not actually be from Europe.
"I think one of the Pope's aims at diversifying the college of cardinals was to give a greater voice to smaller nations and particularly those nations where they have strong indigenous populations. Certainly the dynamics of that group have changed over Pope Francis pontificate but especially over the last 20-30 years," Beazley said.
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