Mass held at Vatican to mark anniversary of Pope Francis’s death

According to Ukrinform, Vatican News reported this.

The Mass is being held in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta—the late pontiff’s former residence.

“Now is not the time to dwell on the course of his daily life, made here of work and meetings and prayer in the small chapel on the second floor. I am sure that Pope Francis grew fond of this house, and we grew fond of him. Such remains the spirit of our prayer of suffrage in this first year of his passing. We still feel him close to us,” reads the homily prepared by Cardinal Angelo Acerbo and delivered by Travaglino during the ceremonies.

The homily also notes that despite his physical limitations, Pope Francis maintained a high pace of work as the Successor of Peter.

“I only wish to recall the apostolic courage with which he faced the years of his pontificate, even when, despite his physical limitations, he wanted to carry out his apostolic mission to the farthest ends of the earth,” Cardinal Acerbi stated in a homily. 

Travaglino also invited those present to turn their thoughts to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where Pope Francis wished to be buried near the Chapel of Mary ‘Salus Populi Romani,’ to which, according to the archbishop, “he would go before and after each of his apostolic journeys and which surely welcomed him at the end of his life.”

Tributes to the late Pope Francis will continue throughout Tuesday. At 5:00 p.m. local time, the Rosary will be recited at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, after which Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over a funeral Mass.

As reported by Ukrinform, on April 21, 2025, the Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis.

In Rome, approximately 140,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

Photo: Vatican News