Church leaders and politicians are among the Australians paying tribute to Pope Francis who has died after battling illness.

The Pope died on Monday, aged 88, after recently battling a serious bout of double pneumonia. 

There are 5.1 million people in Australia who identify as Catholic, according to the 2021 Census, equating to about 20 per cent of the total population. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere Francis was close to the people of Australia. 

“For Australian Catholics, he was a devoted champion and loving father,” Albanese told reporters.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton expressed his condolences to Catholic Australians on the death of the 266th pontiff. 

“He lived frugally and simply,” Dutton said.

“Above all else, he was driven by Christ’s values of mercy and forgiveness.” 

Jorge Mario Bergoglio ascended to become the Supreme Pontiff in 2013, making him the first Pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit Pope and the first Pope from the southern hemisphere since early Christianity.

He was born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Mario, an accountant and Regina, a stay-at-home wife. 

Both were Italian immigrants, with Francis graduating as a chemical technician before choosing the path of the priesthood.

Throughout his 12-year tenure, Pope Francis was lauded for his simplicity, humility, warmth and his concern for the poor and those pushed to the edges.

His papacy centred on themes of social justice, including calling attention to people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants, and the need to care for creation, Australian Catholic University lecturer Sandie Cornish said.

Pope Francis has revitalised Catholic teaching and presided over a “paradigm shift” in his focus on the environment.

“The freshness of the way he speaks about church teachings, even when he is reiterating the same teaching of previous Popes, has attracted people who previously weren’t inclined to listen,” Dr Cornish said. 

In addition to these progressive shifts, the Pope has made structural changes to the Vatican’s leadership by appointing women to key positions and changing rules to allow lay people to head departments.

While Pope Francis wasn’t considered to have done a perfect job in contending with sexually abusive priests’ crimes, Dr Cornish believes he will be remembered as someone who tried to address the issue.

“Each pope is elected for a particular time,” Dr Cornish said.

“Francis has very much been the perfect Pope for this time, as we’re facing tipping points in the viability of the planet and his ability to speak in a very simple way to people … like an Argentinian pastor, has been really helpful.”

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costello said the sad news did not come as a surprise given the Pope’s age and declining health but would be received with great sadness by Catholics and people of good will all over the world. 

“The 12 years of the papacy of Pope Francis were not without controversy,” Archbishop Costelloe said. 

“His constant call that the Church should be open to everybody caused some to fear that he was putting at risk the integrity of the Church’s faith and moral teaching.”

Cardinal Mykola Bychok,  head of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul, will be the sole attendee from Australia at the conclave.