Peter Waddup, CEO - The Leprosy Mission Great Britain

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Tomorrow is the funeral of Pope Francis, a somewhat hushed down affair in comparison to previous popes. The late pontiff will be the first Pope in more than a century not to be buried inside the Vatican. Instead, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Near to the diverse Esquilino neighbourhood, the basilica feels part of the ‘real’ Rome.

In the words of Sir Keir Starmer, Pope Francis was a pope for 'the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten'. It is my prayer that his moral leadership remembered tomorrow in St Peter's Square will resonate among the world leaders present. These include Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron.

Pope Francis's papacy cuts to the very heart of the Gospel. The very embodiment of love thy neighbour, both near and far. There's no denying that world leaders, for whatever justification, have increasingly become inward-looking. Yet Pope Francis has not held back in advocating for those left behind in the decision-making. Cuts to foreign aid were dubbed 'reckless' by the Vatican which warned millions of people would die as a result. Pope Francis had both a vision for the greater good as well as an ability to comfort the individual most crushed by modern life.

It was his stance on global issues that frequently put him at odds with world leaders. These include Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin. Pope Francis described Trump's mass deportations as "damaging the dignity of many men and women”.

Two years ago on World Leprosy Day, Pope Francis called on the global community to remember people with leprosy. He told an audience in Rome, "We must not ignore this disease, which unfortunately still afflicts many people, especially in the most disadvantaged social contexts.” Pope Francis said that leprosy had become a forgotten disease. He then called for those affected to not become a forgotten people.

A man gifted with words yet known more for his actions, the Pontiff visited leprosy colonies in Chile and Peru. Getting to the crux of Jesus' teaching for healing and social justice for people with leprosy is an action I will forever be grateful to him for.

Pope Francis's papacy was the perfect antidote to an increasingly divided and noisy world. Elevated to the opulence of the Vatican, he remained at heart a pastor to wounded souls. What a legacy!