The Chief Rabbi, Dr Yaakov Pearlman, said yesterday that Pope John Paul was a great friend of the Jewish community.
"The reaction of the Jewish community to his death is one of great sadness," he said.
Dr Pearlman said the Pope would be remembered as a pioneer in improving relations with the Jewish community. He accelerated the process.
"He was a man of great spirituality but he could also relate to the man and women in the street. He embraced all of humanity with his love," he said.
The Pope had visited Israel in 2000 and he had made very positive diplomatic moves.
Dr Pearlman said they hoped and prayed that the next pope would tread a similar path. "One certainly would hope that the next pope will continue the legacy of Pope John Paul," he said.
Dr Patrick Walsh, Bishop of Down and Connor, said the Pope's death had an impact on Christians everywhere, not just on Catholics. Preaching yesterday in his diocese, Dr Walsh said the sadness is shared by "our fellow Christians and by so many non-Christians, people of goodwill, who recognised in the Pope a person who in his constant teaching on so many major issues affecting the good of humanity was in many respects the conscience of the world".