His Holiness Pope Leo XIV Recalls His Holiness Pope Francis’ Legacy of Generosity, Mercy for Church and World
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (then Cardinal Robert Prevost) receives the red hat from the late Pope Francis on September 30, 2023 (Vatican Media)
Aboard the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV recalls his Predecessor His Holiness Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, saying the late Pope “gave so much through his life and his closeness to the poor.”
By Salvatore Cernuzio – Aboard Papal plane
“On this first anniversary of his death, I would like to remember Pope Francis, who left so much, who gave so much to the Church through his life, his witness, his words, and his gestures. He did so by truly living closeness to the poorest, to the least, to the sick, to children, and to the elderly.”
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV offered those words about his predecessor to journalists as he flew from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, which marks the final leg of his Apostolic Journey to Africa.
The flight came on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis, who passed away at dawn on April 21, 2025.
The anniversary is being marked by the Church throughout the world.
Promotion of fraternity
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV offered words filled with affection and gratitude for His Holiness the late Pope Francis, who “left so much to the Church through his witness and his words.”
Recalling many aspects of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Leo XIV first pointed out his tireless exhortation to “universal fraternity.”
Pope Francis, he said, truly sought to “promote authentic respect for all men and all women, promoting a spirit of fraternity, of being brothers and sisters, all of us, and of seeking how to live the message we find in the Gospel.”
Message of mercy
He also recalled His Holiness Pope Francis’ message of mercy, which the Argentine Pope expressed from his first Angelus on the Sunday after his election on March 13, 2013.
Pope Francis spoke about mercy “that first time at the Angelus, but also at the Holy Mass he celebrated before the inauguration of his pontificate on March 17, 2013”…
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