Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, who became the 50th Hereditary Ismaili Imam on February 4, 2025, on the passing of his father, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, has conveyed the following message of condolence on the Pope’s passing:
My family and the global Ismaili Muslim Community join me in conveying our heartfelt condolences on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis.
I recall with great warmth my meetings with His Holiness and our discussions on humanity’s shared principles and values, the importance of embracing pluralism, and the urgent need to offer hope and opportunities to the less fortunate.
His Holiness Pope Francis will be remembered for his courageous stance in defending the values of compassion and service to others. He leaves an important and inspiring legacy, which his words and actions will keep alive in the years to come.
My prayers accompany Catholic communities worldwide at this sad time.
Aga Khan
(Please click HERE to read the message on the.Ismaili, the official website of the Ismaili Muslim community.)
__________
The editor and readers of Simerg and its sister websites, Barakah and Simergphotos, convey our condolences to the Catholic community and its leadership worldwide, and ask God to provide solace and strength to everyone grieving. We offer prayers for the eternal rest of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis succeeded Emeritus Benedict XVI, who led the Catholic Church for nearly eight years from April 19, 2005, until his resignation on February 28, 2013, due to his deteriorating health, advanced age, and the heavy demands of being Pope. Pope Benedict retired to the Mater Ecclesiae, a small monastery in the Vatican City. Pope Benedict died on Saturday, December 31, 2022, aged 95, and Pope Francis was elected to the position.
Over the past two decades, there has been an increased collaboration between Catholic institutions and the Ismaili Imamat, through the Aga Khan Development Network. In 2008, the 49th Ismaili Imam, Mawlana Shah Karim, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV (d. February 4, 2025), attended a historic signing agreement in Lisbon between the Catholic University of Portugal and the Aga Khan University. The ceremony was attended by His Eminence D. Jose Policarpo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon and Chancellor of the University, D. José Policarpo.
In May 2012, Prince Amyn, then representing Mawlana Shah Karim, signed the renewal of a partnership agreement between the Aga Khan Foundation and the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Programmes implemented under the partnership, aimed at improving the quality of life of marginalized groups in Greater Lisbon, benefited almost 43,000 people in 2011.
In 2013, with Cardinal Patriarch, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV presided over the signing ceremony of a renewed Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities, reaffirming the enduring nature of their collaboration.
Most recently, in Mawlana Shah Karim’s oldest son and his successor as of February 4, 2025, Mawlana Shah Rahim Al Hussaini Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, met Pope Francis on August 4, 2023, at a private meeting held during the Pope’s visit to Lisbon (see photograph, below).
Prince Rahim conveyed warm greetings on behalf of Mawlana Shah Karim, and on behalf of the worldwide Jamat. His Holiness Pope Francis thanked Prince Rahim for the warm gesture and asked that his good wishes be transmitted to Mawlana Shah Karim and members of his family, and to the global Ismaili community. The Pope and Prince Rahim discussed areas of mutual interest and the potential for future collaboration. Prince Rahim was accompanied by Nazim Ahmad, the Diplomatic Representative of the Ismaili Imamat to Portugal.
In November 2022, Mawlana Shah Rahim Hazar Imam visited the Vatican, where he met His Excellency Reverend Dom Edgar Peña Parra, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State at the Vatican, and Pope Francis. A few months earlier, in May 2022, Mawlana Shah Rahim received Reverend Dom Edgar Peña Parra at the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon.
We also have a famous photograph of Pope Benedict XVI’s handshake with Mawlana Shah Karim during the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to France in 2008. Pope Benedict visited the “Institut De France” in Paris, where the Institut presented him with a gold medal. Pope Benedict also unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit. During his brief remarks to the audience, the Pope expressed his gratitude to the Institut “both personally and as the successor of [Simon] Peter.” (More on Simon Peter in Catholic and Ismaili Muslim traditions below.)
His Late Highness Aga Khan IV was also in attendance at the Institut de France as the Associate Foreign Member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts), one of five learned societies within the Institut, which was founded in 1795.
Everyone’s attention was then drawn to the 49th Ismaili Imam and Pope Benedict, and a sense of interest and keenness filled the hall as they greeted each other with a handshake, captured in the photograph below. (The picture is copyrighted and was reproduced under a licensing arrangement with Getty Images.)
Photographs: Mawlana Shah Karim, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, and Mawlana Shah Rahim Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, with Pope Benedict and Pope Francis and Catholic Leaders
2008
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
2012
~~~~~~~
2013
~~~~~~
2022
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
2023
________________
Brief notes on the Papacy and the Imamat, and Simon Peter — St. Peter — in the Roman Catholic and Ismaili Traditions
The Catholics believe that the Pope is a successor of St. Peter. The succession of the Pope is determined by a college of cardinals who elect the Pope, while the office of the Imam of the Ismailis is a hereditary position. The Ismailis regard their 50th hereditary Imam as the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) through Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Fatima (a.s.). In a speech at the Canadian Parliament in 2014, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV declared that “the Ismaili Imamat is a supra-national entity, representing the succession of Imams since the time of the Prophet.” And, in an interview with Politique International, he said, “The religious leadership of the Ismaili Imam goes back to the origins of Shia Islam when the Prophet Muhammad appointed his son-in-law, Ali, to continue his teachings within the Muslim community. The leadership is hereditary, handed down by Ali’s descendants, and the Ismailis are the only Shia Muslims to have a living Imam, namely myself.”
In the Catholic tradition, the foundation for the office of the Pope is found primarily in Matthew, where Jesus is quoted as telling Simon Peter:
“You are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
This series of successions of the Pope is known as “Apostolic Succession,” with the line of Bishops stretching back to the apostles, who lived during the time of Jesus. Simon Peter is recognized as having been the first Pope. Early Christians reserved the title of “Pope” for St. Peter’s successors.
However, in branches of Shia theology and Ismailism, Simon Peter’s role is seen as a direct parallel to that of Hazrat Ali, who was the first Imam. Ismailis along with some other Shia groups maintain that every major Prophet had a spiritual legatee (Waṣi) or successor called the Asas (foundation) who taught the inner meaning to those who had the capacity to understand it. In this regard, Adam had Seth; Noah had Shem; Moses had Aaron, and Jesus had Simon Peter. A well-known sacred tradition of the Prophet Muhammad says, “Ali is to me as Aaron was to Moses,” confirming that Ali held the same authority as Aaron.
Date posted: April 22, 2025.
Last updated: May 13, 2025 (formatting).
Note: A version of this piece appears on our sister website, Barakah.
Featured photo at the top of the post: Pope Francis shakes hands with Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, then Prince Rahim Aga Khan, during their private audience in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 4, 2023. The Pope was visiting Lisbon for the World Youth Day. Photograph: Vatican News.
_______________
References
- Apostolic Journey to France: Greeting by the Holy Father during the visit at the Institut de France (September 13, 2008)
- The Popes: From St. Peter to Pope Frances by Rupert Matthews, 2014 Edition published by arrangement with Moseley Road Inc.
- Peter in Islam, at Wikipedia.
- Comparing the Imamat and the Papacy: Some Short Notes (at Ismailignosis.com).
- Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, C. Glasse.
- Voices: “The Power of Wisdom” – His Highness the Aga Khan’s Interview with Politique Internationale (English translation)
- In a Dynamic and Stirring Address to Members of the Canadian Parliament, His Highness the Aga Khan Shares His Faith Perspectives on the Imamat, Collaboration with Canada, the Muslim World Community (the Ummah), the Nurturing of Civil Society, Early Childhood Education, Voluntary Work, and the Unity of the Human Race
Simerg - Insights from Around the World 