GENEVA, April 21. /TASS/. The late Pope Francis was "a great friend and supporter" of the Olympic movement, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Monday.

"With the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, we are losing a great friend and supporter of the Olympic Movement," the IOC quoted Bach as saying in a statement. "His support for the peace and solidarity mission of the Olympic Games and for the IOC's many refugee initiatives was unwavering. Rest in peace."

Outgoing President Bach and the recently deceased Pope Francis previously met on several occasions, most recently in January of this year during a private audience at the Vatican.

The IOC’s press office announced in a January 31, 2025 statement following Pope Francis’ audience with Bach that "they discussed the power of sport to improve the world and particularly the success of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, in which the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team took part."

The statement added that Bach thanked His Holiness for his ongoing support and the many positive messages he had sent up to that point. Pope Francis commended Bach "for all that has been done for peace and solidarity."

The Holy See announced earlier in the day that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. On March 23, Francis was discharged from the hospital, where he had spent nearly 40 days. He had been treated for a complicated form of pneumonia and, as his doctors later reported, came close to death twice. The pontiff was ordered to have two months of complete rest, but he began briefly leaving his residence in the former Vatican hotel of St. Martha’s to visit St. Peter’s Basilica.

On April 20, the head of the Roman Catholic Church drove Francis in the popemobile through a square full of worshippers who had come out to celebrate Easter.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) was elected in 2013 after the abdication of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who served as pope emeritus in repose, the first in 600 years, for nearly a decade until his death in late 2022.