Thousands of people had made an early morning pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Square April 23 to witness the transfer and pray for the late pope; they erupted in applause when his body, in an open casket, reached the square and again when it reached the top of the basilica steps.
The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
Among the many trips Pope Francis took after he was elected to the papacy in 2013, his historic first visit to the Arabian Peninsula was a landmark journey. He was the first pope to visit the region and meet with leaders from different religious backgrounds for an interfaith summit.
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis was an outspoken critic of war and cautioned against abusing the “just war” theory detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
It’s not known if Pope Francis ever suffered from jet lag, but the Holy Father logged a lot of air miles during his papacy, traveling to dozens of countries to spread the message of Jesus Christ’s love of mankind.
Pope Francis’ Synod on Sydonality was a four-year undertaking that included dialogue and listening sessions between Catholic bishops, religious, and laity at the local, national, and international levels.
Since the publication of his first book in 1982, Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote prolifically about brotherly love, human dignity, social justice, environmentalism, and the role of the Roman Catholic Church in turbulent times.
Since attending World Youth Day for the first time as pope in 2013, Pope Francis encouraged young people to invite God into their lives and go forward as Christ’s disciples.
The Tablet offers readers a comprehensive overview of Pope Francis’ papacy in this timeline found in the April 26, 2025 print edition.
Pope Francis wasn’t the first pontiff to appoint to the College of Cardinals bishops from non-European, non-traditional locales in terms of Catholicism. He did, however, globalize the college in a way that far exceeds anyone who came before him.
