‘He stood for love and peace’: Australian parishioners and politicians pay tribute to Pope Francis

Mourners pay their respects at a memorial to Pope Francis at St Patricks Cathedral in Melbourne. The pontiff died aged 88 on Monday. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

As Armina Pines lit a candle inside Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, the jovial smile of the late Pope Francis beamed from a portrait on the wall.

For Pines, Pope Francis embodied his legacy as the people’s pope. The pontiff, who reshaped the Catholic church to be more inclusive, helped her feel embraced by the institution as a gay woman, Pines said.