Posted on 04/27/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For thousands of young teens who traveled to Rome for the Jubilee of Teenagers, the announcement of Pope Francis' death came as a shock.
For many, the joy of commemorating the Jubilee Year dedicated to hope was suddenly mingled with grief at the loss of the pontiff, who passed away April 21, and uncertainty about how it would affect their pilgrimage to Rome.
"We have been preparing for the Jubilee since January," 22-year-old Vincenzo Pirico, who was accompanying a group of teens from the central Italian city of Pisa, told Catholic News Service April 27. "When we received the announcement of the Holy Father's death, the spirit with which we participated (these days) truly changed."
Gustavo Molina, a young man from Quito, Ecuador, said the news of the pope's passing felt "like a cold shower."
However, for him and the group of teens he accompanied, grief over the pope's passing turned to gratefulness for the opportunity to be in Rome to pay their respects and say goodbye to the first Latin American pope.
"We were lucky to be here," Molina told CNS. "Everyone was still active, laughing, trying to stay as united as possible in this moment of mourning for the pope."
"The important thing is that we are all together to give one last honor to our dear pope because he was very much loved, especially in the Hispanic community."
Not long after the pope's death was announced, the Vatican said the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Teenagers would not include the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to become a saint, but it would be a memorial Mass instead.
Pope Francis had approved the decree for the canonization of Blessed Acutis May 23, 2024, and announced the date for his canonization at the end of November.
The late pontiff's April 26 funeral marked the beginning of the "novendiali," a nine-day period of mourning in which memorial Masses are celebrated each day at St. Peter's Basilica.
Nevertheless, despite that period of mourning, tens of thousands filled the main road -- Via della Conciliazione -- that led to a jam-packed St. Peter's Square. Many waving flags, singing and applauding.
According to the Vatican press office, an estimated 200,000 people were present for the memorial Mass.
"I'm sure Pope Francis is looking down on this day, and his heart is filled with joy because he calls us to a Jubilee of hope. And this certainly is a Jubilee of hope, isn't it?" Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia told CNS.
Like many who had come to Rome, Archbishop Nelson had come for Blessed Acutis' canonization. But for him, the change to a memorial Mass for Pope Francis was a fitting tribute to a pope who loved, and was loved by, young people.
"Pope Francis said that these young people are not the hope of the future; he actually said they are the now of God. And they're certainly giving witness to that here today," the archbishop said. "It's a great blessing."
When asked about his thoughts on the church's future in the coming days before the conclave, Archbishop Nelson told CNS that it was an "exciting time for the church" and is confident that, like Pope Francis, the next pontiff will be exactly what the world needs.
"I was asked not too long ago, 'Are you worried about who the next pope is going to be?' And I said, 'No, absolutely not,'" the archbishop said. "The Spirit of God has always given us the pope that we needed at the time we needed. We needed our pope. And so I know the Spirit will guide that process and the church will receive him with great joy and great love, as we always do."
The pope's death not only came as a shock to those attending the April 27 Mass, but for pilgrims who had come to pass through the Holy Door during the Jubilee year.
Father Andrea Filippucci, a priest of the Diocese of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, led a group of nearly 100 pilgrims from across three of the islands to Rome to participate in the Jubilee.
Like so many around the world, Father Filippucci -- who hails from Rome -- told CNS in a telephone interview April 26 that he and his group were in disbelief after the pope's death was announced.
"We just saw the pope giving a blessing for the "Urbi et Orbi," he said, referring to the pope's Easter Sunday blessing "to the city and to the world."
"He looked tired, but I think nobody could have expected that he would have passed so quickly. So, obviously, the first reaction was a bit of shock. Is it fake news? How is it possible?"
"I will confess, with Pope Francis' death, it was a moment where I was kind of confused; in the sense that I wasn't expecting it. And it honestly felt a little bit too coincidental at first," said 19-year-old Fayshia Donelly, one of the U.S. Virgin Island pilgrims.
Another member of the group, Briah Ryan told CNS that despite the sadness of the pope's death, she was grateful for the chance to be "a part of this historic time" and that the pilgrimage has been a time to learn about the process of choosing a new pope which "is all very new to me."
"I find it to be an incredible experience and it's going to be something I'm going to remember the rest of my life," she said.
Father Filippucci told CNS the pilgrimage was a "time of prayer" for Pope Francis and "for the Holy Spirit to call the right man to lead the church during this time."
"Our pilgrimage was first based on hope, on passing through the Holy Doors, on getting an indulgence, and that was kind of the theme," the Italian priest said, adding that upon the pope's death, the theme switched to reflect on St. Peter and "the beautiful history God does" with him.
Peter was "not a superhero, but he's somebody who many times doubts and makes a mess, and yet God loves him. So, that's a great hope for us," Father Filippucci said.
"It gave us the opportunity to speak about St. Peter (not only) as the first bishop of the church, but also as an image for us Christians on this journey that God doesn't ask us to be perfect, but he asks us to lean on him and to trust in him," he said.
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Contributing to this story was Justin McLellan at the Vatican.
Posted on 04/27/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Mercy -- the cornerstone of Pope Francis' teaching and ministry -- must guide the Catholic Church through its period of mourning and the uncertainty that lies ahead, the Vatican's second-ranking official said.
Celebrating Mass April 27 for the second day of the "novendiali" -- nine days of mourning for the late pope marked by Masses -- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Vatican secretary of state, told some 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Divine Mercy Sunday that Pope Francis had made the message of God's limitless mercy the heart of his pontificate.
"Our affection for him must not remain a mere emotion of the moment," Cardinal Parolin said. "We must welcome his legacy and make it part of our lives, opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another."
Although the Mass was officially one of mourning, jubilant crowds of young people who traveled to Rome for the Jubilee of Teenagers April 25-27 filed into the square early Sunday morning while cheering, singing songs and breaking out in chant.
"With the death of the pope all of our plans changed, but the kids are excited to be here for this important moment, it's incredible for them," said Jesús Serrano, who was accompanying a group of 185 young people from the Archdiocese of Madrid.
Like so many teenagers in St. Peter's Square, the group from Spain thought they were traveling to Rome to attend the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis -- an Italian teen who was set to be declared the church's first millennial saint by Pope Francis.
Instead, they participated in the late pope's funeral Mass April 26 and returned to the Vatican the following day for his second memorial Mass. The brightly colored t-shirts, hats, flags and banners from each of the groups created a lively tapestry on the sun-soaked square.
Seated on stage in St. Peter's Square on either side of Cardinal Parolin were the cardinals gathered in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral and Vatican employees dressed in mourning attire.
In his homily, the cardinal recognized the bittersweet atmosphere in the square, telling the young people that their presence was a visible sign of Easter joy even amid the church’s grief, adding that Pope Francis "would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you."
The cardinal encouraged the teenagers to hold fast to the hope that comes from Christ, even as they confront the challenges of the modern world, including rapid technological change and the rise of artificial intelligence.
"Never forget to nourish your lives with the true hope that has the face of Jesus Christ," he said. "With him, you will never be alone or abandoned, not even in the worst of times."
Highlighting the day's liturgical celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, Cardinal Parolin said it was fitting to remember Pope Francis, who had made mercy a hallmark of his pontificate.
"Pope Francis reminded us that 'mercy' is the very name of God, and, therefore, no one can put a limit on his merciful love with which he wants to raise us up and make us new people," he said.
The church, Cardinal Parolin noted, must continue to be a place where mercy heals wounds, fosters reconciliation and overcomes hatred and division. "Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred and violence," he said. "This is the teaching of Pope Francis."
As the tomb of Pope Francis in the Basilica of St. Mary Major was opened to the public for the first time the morning of April 27, Cardinal Parolin recalled the late pope’s deep devotion to Mary, having chosen to be buried in the Marian basilica outside the Vatican, and entrusted the church to her care.
Standing alongside the icon of Mary that Pope Francis often visited in that basilica during his pontificate, the cardinal prayed that she would "protect us, intercede for us, watch over the church and support the journey of humanity in peace and fraternity."
Posted on 04/26/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
ROME (CNS) -- The casket bearing the body of Pope Francis made its final journey through the streets of Rome accompanied by applause and shouts of gratitude from thousands of mourners.
After the funeral Mass April 26, pallbearers carried Pope Francis' coffin through St. Peter's Basilica, stopping briefly at the steps leading to St. Peter's tomb before placing it on a retrofitted popemobile parked outside.
Hundreds awaited outside and applauded as the vehicle, accompanied by four police officers on motorbikes, left the grounds of Vatican City for the last time.
According to the Vatican and Italian police, some 150,000 people watched the pope's casket pass by.
Along the wide boulevard in front of Torre Argentina, where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 A.D., tourists and bystanders packed the streets, some teetering on top of the stone walls around the ancient site. Residents were leaning out of their upper-story apartment windows, everyone camera-ready. When the motorcade passed, people clapped and cheered, some shouting "Grazie, Papa Francesco" ("Thank you, Pope Francis) and "Viva il papa." ("Long live the pope").
The cortegé bearing the first Jesuit pope passed by the Gesu Church, the mother church of the Society of Jesus in Rome's historic center, where the body of the order's founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, is buried.
Among the tens of thousands of people hoping to catch a glimpse of the papal casket outside Rome's famed Colosseum was a group of 50 young people from the Diocese of Verona who were in Rome for the Jubilee of Adolescents.
For 23-year-old Samuele Simoni, the death of Pope Francis, which happened while the group made their way to Rome for the Jubilee pilgrimage, was "unimaginable."
Speaking to Catholic News Service, Simoni said bidding the pope farewell along the route to his tomb was a way for the group to witness "the strength of the church in such an important time of mourning."
Pope Francis was "an important and influential figure" in the lives of young people, and to join others in bidding farewell to the pontiff was "definitely a time in which they could also fully experience a bit of the Jubilee," he said.
"People often think of the Jubilee as seeing the pope in a different way. Yet, it is certainly an emotional moment of prayer that is both strong and beautiful," Simoni told CNS. "For them, it will truly remain an indelible memory in their hearts."
When the casket arrived at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, pallbearers carried it in a solemn procession down the central nave.
Among the cardinals present for the burial were: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals; Roger M. Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, and ranking member of the order of cardinal priests; Dominique Mamberti, former prefect of the Apostolic Signature and ranking member of the order of cardinal deacons; Stanisław Ryłko, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major; Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the basilica; Pietro Parolin, secretary of state under Pope Francis; Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome; and Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner.
Before reaching the pope's final resting place, the pallbearers stopped in front of the chapel where Pope Francis often laid flowers and prayed before the icon of Mary. This time, two boys and two girls carried baskets of white flowers and set them before the altar under the Marian icon.
The pallbearers then made their way to Pope Francis' tomb, where Cardinal Farrell presided over the burial rite. Earlier in the week, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists that the actual burial would not be broadcast live.
In a statement released April 24, the Vatican press office said "a group of the poor and needy will be present on the steps" leading to the papal basilica to welcome his casket.
Corriere della Sera also reported that five prisoners from Rome's Rebibbia prison were given special permission to be present at the basilica and attend the pope's burial.
The pope had a special affection for prisoners, celebrating Holy Thursday Mass almost every year at a prison or jail. On April 17, just four days before his death, Pope Francis visited Rome's Regina Coeli jail.
According to Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, Auxiliary Bishop Benoni Ambarus of Rome, who was charged with prison pastoral care for the diocese, revealed the late pope had recently made a personal donation of 200,000 euros ($228,100) to a pasta factory run by the prisoners of Rome's Casal del Marmo prison.
Saying the prisoners felt orphaned after the pope's death, Bishop Ambarus said he was "working so that (the pope's) favorite children can be at the funeral. We will see what we can do."
The Basilica of St. Mary Major was dear to Pope Francis throughout his pontificate as he would often go to pray before the icon "Salus Populi Romani" ("Health -- or salvation -- of the Roman people"), especially before and after his papal trips.
At a briefing with journalists outside the basilica April 26, Cardinal Makrickas said the pope, who was initially reluctant to be buried outside of St. Peter's Basilica, told him in May 2022 that the "Virgin Mary told me, 'Prepare the tomb.'"
The Vatican previewed an image of the tomb, which was created with marble from the northern Italian region of Liguria, the land of the late pope's grandparents, and inscribed with the Latin version of his name: Franciscus. It also featured a large reproduction of his pectoral cross.
In his final testament, which was published by the Vatican shortly after his death April 21, the pope expressed his wish to be buried at the basilica dedicated to Mary to whom he had entrusted his "priestly and episcopal life and ministry."
The pope further explained his reasons in his autobiography, "Hope," which was published in January. In it, he said he would not be buried in Saint Peter's Basilica because "the Vatican is the home of my last service, not my eternal home."
"I will go in the room where they now keep the candelabra close to the Regina della Pace (Queen of Peace) from whom I have always sought help, and whose embrace I have felt more than a hundred times during the course of my papacy," he wrote.
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Contributing to this story were Carol Glatz and Justin McLellan in Rome.
Posted on 04/26/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis was elected as the first Latin American pontiff, he said his brother cardinals went out of their way to pick someone from the "ends of the earth."
He spent the rest of his pontificate going back out to those peripheries, traveling to more than 65 nations, preferring those that were poor, scarred by war, marginalized and forgotten. Then the peripheries came to him on the day of his funeral in St. Peter's Square.
More than 160 nations sent delegations April 26, headed by kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, government officials and ambassadors.
Several nations were geographically far-flung like the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Many were nations on the fringes of the world's attention, but where the pope never visited like Albania, Iceland, El Salvador, Angola, Gabon, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Qatar, Oman and Vietnam.
All the countries the pope visited in his 12-year pontificate were represented except Kazakhstan and South Korea, according to the list of confirmed delegations the Vatican press office released late April 25.
The nations on the peripheries the pope visited that came to Rome to return the honor included: Timor-Leste, Cuba, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Congo, South Sudan, Kenya, Mozambique, Morocco, Mongolia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Palestine and many others.
But of course, political elites and nations at the center of power were present, too: U.S. President Donald J. Trump and his wife Melania, French President Emmanuel Macron, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, English Prime Minster Keir Starmer, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Britain's Prince William and Mary Simon, the governor-general of Canada.
Delegations also were present from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan. However, Taiwan, not mainland China, was represented by Chen Chien-jen who served as vice president and premier of Taiwan. Only a dozen countries, including Vatican City State, officially recognize Taiwan as an independent sovereign state while China maintains its claim over the island.
Vatican protocol for a papal funeral places cardinals, bishops and ecumenical delegates to the left of the casket and heads of state to the right.
Of the nearly 40 ecumenical delegates, there were Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople; Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of external church relations for the Moscow Patriarchate; Catholicos Karekin II, the patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church; as well as representatives of the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Evangelical communities.
Protocol also determines the seating arrangements within the VIP section for political leaders. The large delegations from Italy and Argentina, the pope's home country, were in the front row, followed by royalty, then international leaders in order of political hierarchy and in alphabetical order of their country's name in French.
That meant U.S. President Trump was nowhere near Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Representing "États-Unis," Trump was invited to sit near Estonia, Finland and France.
However, world leaders had a chance to pray at the pope's closed casket in the basilica before the funeral started. Zelenskyy and Trump sat down briefly for a "very productive" talk, according to the White House. Zelenskyy said on Telegram it was a "good meeting. One-on-one, we managed to discuss a lot. We hope for a result from all the things that were said."
The "very symbolic meeting," he said, "has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you, President Donald Trump!" A photo of Zelenskyy, Trump, Macron and Starmer meeting and speaking together in the basilica was also published on social media.
Nonetheless, the complex seating arrangements for the funeral meant many traditional enemies and nations at war were not seated near each other.
For example, Zelenskyy, who is a head of state, was seated ahead of Russia's representative, Olga Lyubimova, who is the minister of culture.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa was also seated far from Israel's ambassador to the Vatican, Yaron Sideman, who attended even though official representatives of Israel are normally prohibited from participating in formal activities on the Jewish Sabbath.
"In this case, an exception was granted because of its importance," Sideman told Ansa, the Italian wire service, April 24. "Israel attaches great importance to expressing its condolences and joining the Catholic world in mourning the passing of the pontiff."
Even though alphabetically close, Armenia and Azerbaijan, who are locked in an ethnic and territorial conflict over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, were seated far apart since Armenia sent its president and Azerbaijan sent the speaker of its national assembly.
Because he is not an active head of state, former U.S. President Joe Biden, a Catholic, was seated in a separate VIP section and not near Trump, who has repeatedly vilified him publicly.
In another section, numerous representatives of other religions were present such as Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Muslims and Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome.
The presence of so many world leaders at Pope Francis' funeral and their praise and accolades after his death April 21 sparked accusations of hypocrisy, especially in Italy, where the government has taken a hard line against immigration.
Achille Occhetto, an Italian politician, said, "Now that Francis is dead, all the floggers of migrants, champions against welcoming, in short, all shades of bullies and authoritarians in the world, pretend to bow to him."
Cardinal Domenico Battaglia of Naples told the Italian daily, La Repubblica, April 26, "There is a risk of beatifying him in words, only to forget him in deeds."
Pope Francis "spoke plainly" without mincing words as all prophets do, he said. The cardinal compared the situation to King Herod and John the Baptist. Herod "welcomed him, listened to him and then did the opposite of what John preached."
The pope's funeral provided a rare opportunity for enemies and friends to come together as one and be reminded of his invitation to "build bridges and not walls." But he also warned that the world needed action and not words.
Posted on 04/26/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis was "a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone," said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he presided over the funeral of the pope, who died April 21 at the age of 88.
And the people -- an estimated 200,000 of them -- were present as 14 pallbearers carried Pope Francis' casket into St. Peter's Square and set it on a carpet in front of the altar for the funeral Mass April 26.
His burial was scheduled for later the same day in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major after being driven in a motorcade through the center of the city where he served as bishop from the day of his election to the papacy March 13, 2013.
Security around the Vatican was tight, not only because of the number of mourners expected but especially because of the presence of kings, queens, presidents -- including U.S. President Donald J. Trump -- and prime ministers from more than 80 countries and official representatives from scores of other nations.
Also present were the residents of a Vatican palace Pope Francis had turned into a shelter for the homeless and the 12 Syrian refugees he brought to Rome with him from a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016.
The Gospel reading at the funeral was John 21:15-19 where the Risen Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" And when Peter says yes, Jesus tells him, "Feed my sheep."
"Despite his frailty and suffering toward the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life," Cardinal Re said in his homily. "He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving his life for them."
The 91-year-old cardinal told the crowd that the image of Pope Francis that "will remain etched in our memory" was his appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica the day before he died to give his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) and then to ride in the popemobile among the people who had come to celebrate Christ's victory over death.
"The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts," Cardinal Re said. The Vatican estimated that 250,000 people -- many of whom waited in line for three or four hours -- filed past the late pope's body in St. Peter's Basilica April 23-25.
Within the church, the cardinal said, "the guiding thread" of Pope Francis' ministry was his "conviction that the church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open."
For Pope Francis, he said, the church was a "field hospital," one "capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds."
With President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olga Lyubimova, Russian minister of culture, seated near the altar, Cardinal Re said that "faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions."
'"Build bridges, not walls' was an exhortation he repeated many times, and his service of faith as successor of the Apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions," the cardinal said.
Cardinal Re also recalled Pope Francis' constant concern for migrants and refugees from his first papal trip outside of Rome to pray for migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, his visit to Lesbos and his celebration of Mass in 2016 on the U.S.-Mexican border.
At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome, offered special prayers for the city's deceased bishop, Pope Francis. Then Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops gathered around the casket and led funeral prayers from the Byzantine tradition in honor of the pastor of the universal Catholic Church.
Sister Norma Pimentel, a Missionary of Jesus and director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, had knelt in prayer before the body of Pope Francis April 25 and was present for the funeral.
"The funeral of Pope Francis is a very important part of who we are as people of faith," she told Catholic News Service. "We walk together, we cry together, we work together ... doing what we believe is important in our lives as people of faith, and we say farewell together at the end."
The funeral, she said, is a time "to join him in this last farewell and say thank you: Thank you for being you, for being there with us, and we'll see you."
Sister Pimentel is known especially for her work with migrants and refugees, a ministry close to the heart of Pope Francis.
"He was all about making sure that we understood the importance" of welcoming newcomers, she said. His message was: "Please open your hearts. Please care for them. That's all they're asking."
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, also prayed alongside the pope's body April 25 as it lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica. "It was an important moment of confirming the news that I had heard but did not want to believe" -- that the pope had died.
Pope Francis "had played such an important role in my life as a mentor, as a teacher," the cardinal said. "It was really a 20-year friendship."
"We have many reasons to grieve, but we have every reason to hope," said the cardinal, who concelebrated the funeral Mass and would be among the cardinals voting to elect a new pope.
Cardinal Tobin said he thought Pope Francis' lasting legacy would be the call to be "a synodal church," one where every person takes responsibility for the church's mission and where all members listen to one another and to the Holy Spirit.
"That kind of church is really necessary to bring to fruition all of his other prophetic teachings," the cardinal said.
"Without a synodal church," he said, it will be difficult to put into practice Pope Francis' teaching on the environment, on dialogue and human fraternity and even on sharing the joy of the Gospel.
Pope Francis' coffin was sealed April 25, and early the next morning it was moved to Saint Peter’s Square for the final farewell — his funeral — attended by world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, and by vast crowds of faithful.
Posted on 04/25/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
ROME (CNS) -- "The Virgin Mary told me, 'Prepare the tomb.'" That is what Pope Francis said Mary told him when he was discerning whether to be buried in the historic Marian church where his body will be laid to rest April 26.
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, discussed the pope's decision to be buried at the papal basilica some three miles outside the Vatican during a news conference April 25, the day before the late pope's funeral.
The cardinal said that during a meeting with the pope in 2022 to discuss a remodeling project in the basilica, he asked the pope if he wanted to be buried there given his devotion to the Marian icon "Salus Populi Romani" ("health of the Roman people"), which is housed in the church.
"In that moment he said no, because the popes are buried in St. Peter's Basilica," Cardinal Makrickas said, but after a week the pope called him to his Vatican residence and shared what Mary told him.
In that conversation the pope added, "I am happy that Our Lady hasn't forgotten about me," the cardinal told reporters, and he was asked to begin preparing the tomb.
The basilica is the first and oldest Marian basilica in the West -- it began construction in 432, though it was completed in its present state in 1743.
Pope Francis specified that he did not want his tomb placed in the Pauline Chapel, where the Marian icon is on display, because "in this chapel people must pray to the Lord, venerate Our Lady, not look at the tomb of a pope," Cardinal Makrickas said.
The late pope visited the Marian icon in St. Mary Major before and after each of his 47 international trips and after each of his hospital stays. He told people he also had visited it each time he came to Rome as a cardinal.
His connection to the basilica is also tied to his Jesuit roots: St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, celebrated his first Mass there in 1538, making it a fitting burial place for the church's first Jesuit pope.
Cardinal Makrickas noted that the basilica's location is also symbolically important. It is connected by a straight road to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where St. Francis of Assisi once sought papal approval for his new religious community. According to tradition, Pope Innocent III had a dream of a humble man holding up that basilica to stop its collapse -- a vision believed to foreshadow St. Francis' mission.
Pope Francis, the first to use that papal name, chose it in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.
The pope's burial place will be near the icon that was so dear to him as well as to an altar dedicated to St. Francis, so "the place seems truly perfect," Cardinal Makrickas said.
Pope Francis will be the first pope buried at the basilica since Pope Clement IX who died in 1669. The last pope to be buried outside the Vatican was Pope Leo XIII who was buried in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in 1903.
A photo of the Pope Francis' tomb released by the Vatican April 24 showed it to be simple, adorned with an enlarged rendering of his pectoral cross and made of white Ligurian marble -- a nod to the land of his Italian grandparents -- while bearing only the name "Franciscus."
"I see it as a connection between the decision to not live in the Apostolic Palace, but rather at Casa Santa Marta," Cardinal Makrickas said. "His life also ends in a place that is different and simple."
Posted on 04/24/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Given the late Pope Francis' care and concern for the poor, a representative group of them has been formally invited to welcome his casket to Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major for burial.
"The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God," the Vatican press office said in a statement April 24. It was the same "in the heart and magisterium of the Holy Father, who had chosen the name Francis to never forget them."
"For this reason, a group of the poor and needy will be present on the steps leading to the papal Basilica of St. Mary Major to pay their last respects to Pope Francis before the burial of his coffin," the statement said.
The College of Cardinals decided Pope Francis' funeral would be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter's Square. In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried at St. Mary Major where he frequently went to pray to seek Mary's help or to thank her for her assistance.
The Vatican said the pope's casket would be driven to the basilica from the Vatican through the city of Rome. The motorcade is supposed to move slowly so that members of the public along the route can salute him for the final time.
The actual burial is a prayerful rite that will not be broadcast live, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.
Pope Francis' tomb, in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica, is made of marble from Liguria and, in accordance with the pope's wishes, says simply, "Franciscus." A reproduction of his pectoral cross hangs above the marble slab.
In his final testament, published by the Vatican a few hours after his death April 21, Pope Francis asked to be buried at St. Mary Major because he had entrusted his "priestly and episcopal life and ministry" to Mary.
"I wish my last earthly journey to end at this very ancient Marian shrine where I would go to pray at the beginning and end of each apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for her docile and maternal care," he wrote.
Posted on 04/24/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Benedictine abbot and a Capuchin cardinal will offer spiritual meditations on the needs of the Catholic Church to the cardinals preparing to elect a new pope, according to the Vatican press office.
Benedictine Father Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, will offer the first meditation soon after Pope Francis' funeral April 26, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the retired preacher of the papal household, will offer the second meditation inside the Sistine Chapel before members of the conclave begin to vote. Because Cardinal Cantalamessa is 90 years old, he is not eligible to participate in the voting.
The meditations should focus "on the problems facing the Church at the time and on the need for careful discernment in choosing the new Pope," according to the apostolic constitution, "Universi Dominici Gregis," containing the rules for running the church between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of a new one.
The two prelates were chosen April 24 during the third "general congregation," the title for the daily meetings of cardinals before the conclave begins. As of April 24, the cardinals had not decided what day the conclave would begin.
Bruni said 113 cardinals participated in the meeting April 24. Cardinals who arrived in Rome after the April 23 general congregation took their oaths at the beginning of the meeting.
Cardinals are obliged to "promise, pledge and swear, as a body and individually, to observe exactly and faithfully all the norms" governing the period between the death of a pope and the election of a new one, and "to maintain rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."
The College of Cardinals currently has 252 members. The 117 cardinals who are ineligible to vote, mainly because of age, are still invited to participate in the general congregations. Bruni said he did not know how many of the 113 present April 24 were cardinal electors.
And while many of the cardinals still had not reached Rome, the cardinals began their discussions of the needs of the church and the world, with 34 cardinals speaking, Bruni said.
Posted on 04/24/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
WASHINGTON – According to a new survey, nine in ten men who will be ordained to the priesthood this year were encouraged to consider this vocation by someone in their life. Three-quarters of them regularly participated in Eucharistic Adoration before entering the seminary. “Encourage a young man to consider the priesthood or to attend Eucharistic Adoration; he could be your future pastor,” said Bishop Earl Boyea. “We express our deepest gratitude to the many priests, family members, mentors, formators, and laity who have encouraged and supported these men in their discernment of their call to the priesthood.” In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on May 11, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2025 Study, conducted annually by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.
“We pray for the continued fidelity of the newly ordained to the voice of God and for the faithful to whom they will minister,” said Bishop Boyea, who serves as chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations. “As witnesses of hope, we thank them for their courage to commit their lives to what Pope Francis said is a call that embraces their entire existence.”
Out of the 405 men who are to be ordained this year, 309 completed CARA’s Ordination Class of 2025 survey, for an overall response rate of 76%. These ordinands represent 115 dioceses and eparchies in the United States and 36 distinct religious institutes.
A few of the major findings in the report:
The full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2025 can be accessed here.
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Posted on 04/23/2025 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- From the moment he took the helm of the Catholic Church's sprawling hierarchy, Pope Francis positioned himself as a pastor close to the people he served, and he called out the behavior of priests who were distant from and thought they were superior to their flocks.
The pope set the tone early for his consistent rebukes of clericalism by including it in his first apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium," the 2013 document that was considered a roadmap for his pontificate.
Discussing the need to recognize the baptismal dignity and gifts of the laity, the pope wrote that sometimes laypeople did not have the necessary training to exercise leadership, but often "room has not been made for them to speak and to act, due to an excessive clericalism which keeps them away from decision-making."
Pope Francis' campaign against clericalism was waged when meeting both ordinary parish priests and "princes of the church," as cardinals once were known.
In a 2016 homily -- given at a morning Mass with members of his international Council of Cardinals -- he said that modern-day priests "feel superior, clerics distance themselves from the people," and the poor and humble suffer as a result.
"The evil of clericalism is a really awful thing," he added.
In an open letter published in 2023, Pope Francis told priests of the Diocese of Rome that clericalism is "a disease that causes us to lose the memory of the baptism we have received" and leads to priests exercising authority "without humility but with detached and haughty attitudes."
The papal message has reached those preparing for priesthood, too, Msgr. Andrew R. Baker, rector of Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, told Catholic News Service.
In an email interview in March 2024, the monsignor, head of the largest Catholic seminary in the United States, said that since the start of Pope Francis' pontificate he has noticed "a growing desire among the seminarians to be other-centered," in contrast to a pervasive worldly mentality that emphasizes the needs of the self.
"Seminarians today are not becoming priests because they want an easy, revered, and privileged life," he said. "Pope Francis' message on clericalism serves the seminarians as a kind of warning if they don't forget about themselves and serve others."
At the Vatican Pope Francis tried to lead by example by appointing more laypeople, especially women, to positions of responsibility.
In a significant shift, the pope revised language about who can lead Vatican dicasteries, the departments that make up the Roman Curia, opening the door for laypeople to be at the helm of the church's governing bodies.
St. John Paul II's 1988 apostolic constitution "Pastor Bonus" had dictated that the top Vatican offices would be led by a cardinal or archbishop and specified that "matters requiring the exercise of power of governance be reserved to those in holy orders."
Pope Francis replaced that language in 2022, writing in his constitution "Praedicate Evangelium" that "any member of the faithful can preside over a Dicastery or Office."
Immediately following the promulgation of "Praedicate Evanglium," he named three women, including a laywoman, to the Dicastery of Bishops, the Vatican office that helps the pope choose bishops. Before the reform, only cardinals and a few bishops were members of the body.
One of the three women, Salesian Sister Yvonne Reungoat, told CNS that her appointment was "one sign among many" of Pope Francis' desire to respect the different vocations of the church's members and incorporate them into its decision-making.
While some priests still exercise their ministry as "a power over others, who then become inferior," Sister Reungoat said she receives "absolute respect of our vision and equality" from the cardinals and bishops in the dicastery.
Pope Francis, she said, understood the complementary nature of men and women working alongside one another as well as the fruitful collaboration of the church's lay and religious members -- both dynamics that cut down on clericalism.
The listening that took place as part of Pope Francis' 2021-2024 Synod of Bishops on synodality, she said, allowed "a large, free expression of the sufferings, many sufferings, caused by clericalism and which remain wounds to be healed."
Merely stating the problem of clericalism and its consequences is not enough to solve it, she said, but "the act of being able to express it and that such (sentiments) are accepted is a step on a journey of change."
"That doesn't mean these steps will necessarily change the whole world, but I believe they are irreversible," she said.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, told CNS that having women members of the dicastery "contributes significantly to the process of discernment in looking for who we hope are the best candidates to serve the church in episcopal ministry."
To deter attitudes of clericalism among bishops, he said, "it's important to find men who are truly interested in serving, in preaching the Gospel, not just with eloquent words, but rather with the example and witness they give."
In fact, the cardinal said, Pope Francis' "most effective and important" bulwark against clericalism was his being "a pastor who preaches by gesture."
Pope Francis tackled the issue "head on through some of the talks he's given to the Roman Curia," urging clerics at the highest levels of the church's hierarchy "to examine ourselves and think about what it means to also be at the service of the church."
"His message is precisely to inspire, to lead, to push all of us who are members of the clergy to not get so caught up in a lot of the external trappings but look for ways to truly be examples of the mercy, the compassion, the healing of Jesus Christ," Cardinal Prevost said.
