"Certainly, here in Estonia we will remember him as a pope who came here, who visited us six years ago," Jourdan said.

"In that sense, I think he is closer to us than many other popes," he added.

Jourdan said Francis was the first pope from South America rather than Europe. "This shows how, over the centuries, the Church has developed and spread across the entire world. He was the first to embody that," the bishop said.

"He was a pope who truly dedicated himself completely to his people. Just yesterday, on Easter Sunday, he met with Catholics and believers in St. Peter's Square," Jourdan said.

"He was pope until the very last moment. He devoted his life and time to all people and to members of the Church until the end. That is something very special. Until the final day, he acted as pope. One could say he had great willpower to do that after weeks in the hospital battling a serious illness," he added.

Speaking about Pope Francis' legacy, Jourdan highlighted his consideration for all people and his valuing of them despite their weaknesses. "He showed that God comes to meet us even when we are struggling, even when we live far from the Church," Jourdan said.

"In that sense, he was a great missionary and tried with all his heart to reach every person. And I think even those who did not always agree with everything he said admit that he was truly a person who was devoted to others," the bishop told ERR.

Thanks to this, many people today see the Catholic Church as a body that cares and also knows how to forgive, Jourdan believes.

A mass for Pope Francis will be held on Monday evening at the St Peter and St Paul's Cathedral in Tallinn. Everyone is welcome.

Pope Francis visits Tallinn

Pope Francis visited all three Baltic states in 2018. The speech he made when meeting then-President Kersti Kaljulaid can be read here.

"I would like to think of Estonia as a land of memory and of fruitfulness," he said, listing Estonia's achievements since it regained independence in 1991.

"Your people had to endure, at different times in history, moments of bitter suffering and tribulation. Struggles for a freedom and independence that was constantly disputed or threatened. Nonetheless, in the last twenty-five years or so — since you once again took your proper place in the family of nations — Estonian society has taken "giant steps" forward," the Pope said.

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