Pope Francis will be remembered today on the first anniversary of his death with a Rosary and Mass to be broadcast live on Vatican media channels. Source: Vatican News.
The Rosary and Mass will broadcast live on Vatican News and Vatican Radio from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where the late pontiff was laid to rest.
Also to mark the anniversary, a documentary recalling Pope Francis’ life will be released.
Pope Francis died at Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican at 7.35am on April 21, 2025. Five days later, his funeral took place, and his remains, according to his wishes, have since rested in the Marian Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The Basilica announced that the tribute will begin with a recitation of the Rosary at 5pm (1am, Wednesday AEST) in the Pauline Chapel, which Pope Francis visited dozens of times.
Afterwards, on the right side of the Chapel, a commemorative plaque will be unveiled to honour the special bond between Pope Francis and the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani.
The bronze plaque bears a Latin inscription of 160 characters in two different sizes, which reads: “Francis Supreme Pontiff, who paused 126 times in devout prayer at the feet of the Salus Populi Romani; according to his will, rests in this Papal Basilica.”
Mass will be celebrated at 6pm (2am, Wednesday AEST), during which the message of Pope Leo XIV, currently on his Apostolic Journey in Africa, will be read.
The celebration will be shown on the large screen in front of the Basilica, in Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, and streamed on Vatican News’s YouTube channel.
For the anniversary, Vatican media will also release a 26-minute documentary – subtitled in Italian, English, and Spanish – which, through archival footage and symbolic sequences, recounts the pontificate of “the Pope of mercy” and “the Pope of the peripheries”, highlighting his most emblematic expressions and gestures.
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Celebrations in memory of Pope Francis (Vatican News)
