On the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, Pope Leo XIV praised his predecessor’s “courageous witness” as “a significant heritage for the Church”. Source: OSV News.
Pope Leo, who is in Equatorial Guinea on the last leg of his apostolic trip, sent a message yesterday to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
The message was read by the cardinal at a Mass at Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major, where the late pontiff is buried not far from the chapel housing the Marian icon Salus Populi Romani (“health of the Roman People”), where Pope Francis prayed before and after every international trip.
In his message, the Pope recalled his predecessor’s death on Easter Monday in 2025, saying he concluded “his earthly pilgrimage in the embrace of the Risen Christ, in that ‘joy of the Gospel’ which inspired one of his most significant apostolic exhortations”.
“His magisterium was lived as that of a missionary disciple, as he liked to say. He remained a disciple of the Lord, faithful to his baptism and to his consecration in the episcopal ministry, to the very end,” the Pope said.
Remembering the late pontiff as “a caring shepherd,” Pope Leo said his predecessor touched the hearts of many people “thanks to his apostolic journeys and especially to that final ‘journey,’ which was his illness and his death.”
He also noted that Pope Francis, “in harmony with his predecessors”, embraced the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and called on the Church “to be open to mission, to be the guardian of the world’s hope, and passionate in proclaiming that Gospel which is capable of giving fullness and happiness to every life”.
“We still hear the echo of his exhortations, expressed in eloquent words to make the Good News more understandable: mercy, peace, fraternity, the ‘smell of the sheep,’ field hospital, and many others,” Pope Leo said.
“Each of these expressions brings us back to the Gospel lived by him with a new language that proclaims the same Gospel as always.”
Hundreds gathered to pray for the late pontiff at the Roman basilica where he is buried. The Pope’s simple tomb, engraved with his papal name in Latin – Franciscus – was adorned with yellow and white flowers.
On top of the marble slab lay a single white rose, with a lit oil lamp in front.
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Mass at Basilica of St. Mary Major marks first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
