St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church

Mourners pass through St. Peter’s Basilica on April 24, 2025, at the Vatican to pay their respects and say a final goodbye to Pope Francis. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 24, 2025 / 21:57 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, center, speaks about Pope Francis at a press conference at the Jesuit general curia in Rome on April 24, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 24, 2025 / 17:28 pm (CNA).

Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, superior general of the Society of Jesus, reflected on the first Jesuit pope in a press conference on Thursday, saying Francis “did not seek to please everyone” or to measure himself by a popularity index.

“Once he chose to be a disciple of Jesus, his deep motivation in life was to put God’s will into practice,” Sosa said, calling the late pontiff “a man of prayer, who asked for prayers to make decisions according to the will of God.”

During the press conference, held in the Jesuit general curia in Rome, Sosa also answered a question about what qualities are needed in the next pope. “Undoubtedly, we are looking for another man of God,” he said.

“And after that, for me, it is important to have a pope with a universal outlook,” he added, drawing a distinction with what he called an “international outlook.”

The Jesuit superior defended Francis against accusations he caused controversy — like with Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican’s declaration on same-sex blessings — or fell short in some areas by saying he was not the source of problems in the Church but inherited problems that were already there.

“Pope Francis helped put the difference of positions on the table” and provoked dialogue, Sosa said, stressing that the late pope wanted to listen to everyone.

“I don’t think of Pope Francis as a reformer,” Sosa also said. “I think of him as someone who continued the reform that the Church has always carried out.”

About Francis’ record on abuse, Sosa said the pope “always acknowledged his limitations, his mistakes, and his slowness” to respond to cases. “This is not about giving Pope Francis a medal or giving him a grade but about learning about potential criticism and mistakes.”

“With regard to abuse cases, I think the Church is not in the same place when Pope Francis was elected. That’s without a doubt. It hasn’t been a straight line… but the Church has advanced in that direction,” he added.

According to the superior general, Pope Francis’ most urgent legacy for today will be his calls for peace: “I think Pope Francis has shouted in every moment, on every occasion, about peace.”

“The world needs peace and peace is built by us,” Sosa added. “Peace means to put aside any other priority than people and the dignity of people. And peace means justice with the poor. I think the constant prayer and the constant argument about peace by Pope Francis is a very important message for today.”

Pope Francis, who joined the Society of Jesus in 1958, was the first-ever Jesuit to be pope. During his international trips, he would always spend time with local Jesuits in the countries he visited. He also met with Jesuits in Rome during their 36th general congregation on Oct. 24, 2016.

“He established a very fraternal relationship with the Jesuits,” Sosa said on April 24. “We will end this period of Pope Francis thanking the Lord.”

Catholic Charities USA sign at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. / Credit: DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) will launch a national storytelling exhibit in 2026 detailing the organization’s acts of service around the country, the charity group said this week.

The exhibit, titled “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” will tour the U.S. for two and a half years, according to a press release from the organization on Wednesday. 

“The exhibit, housed in a retrofitted tractor trailer, will share professionally produced, first-person accounts from staff and volunteers of Catholic Charities agencies across the country about meaningful and memorable encounters with families and individuals in need,” the release stated.

The project will be funded by a nearly $5 million from the Lilly Endowment. “We are incredibly grateful to Lilly Endowment for offering us the opportunity to shine a light on the transcendent power that springs from the simple but profound act of helping another human being in need,” CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson said.

“Through this exhibit, we hope to inspire more people of hope all around the United States to seek out opportunities to love and serve our neighbors, to be Christ-like in response to human suffering, deprivation, or injustice,” she added. 

Apart from Catholic Charities USA, the Lilly Endowment awarded grants to 11 other organizations “as a part of an invitational round of its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.” 

“For many years, leaders of Christian communities have shared with the endowment powerful stories about how faith animates the lives of individuals with meaning and hope, giving them a deep sense of God’s love for themselves and others,” the endowment’s Vice President for Religion Christopher Coble stated in a press release announcing the approval of the grants.

“These leaders have also shared their concerns that these powerful stories are often overshadowed by accounts of the closing of churches and the weakening of religious life,” he continued. “We hope this initiative will help make known the vibrant ways that Christians practice their faith through acts of love and compassion in their everyday lives.”

Catholic Charities USA will begin professionally recording selected stories of service from its staff this summer at its office in Alexandria, Virginia, while the exhibit is scheduled to kick off its journey in the spring of 2026.

null / Credit: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

The University of Louisville has agreed to pay a former professor nearly $1.6 million after the university demoted him and refused to renew his contract following off-campus expert testimony in which he spoke about the dangers of performing transgender operations on children.

Allan Josephson, a psychologist who had led the university’s division of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology, received pushback from the university’s LGBT Center immediately after he voiced his concerns on a panel at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“I’m glad to finally receive vindication for voicing what I know is true,” Josephson said in a statement provided by his attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) after the settlement.

“Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives,” Josephson added. 

“In spite of the circumstances I suffered through with my university, I’m overwhelmed to see that my case helped lead the way for other medical practitioners to see the universal truth that altering biological sex is impossibly dangerous while acceptance of one’s sex leads to flourishing.”

According to the lawsuit Josephson filed against the school in early 2019, the professor said during the Heritage panel discussion that gender dysphoria is a sociocultural and psychological issue that cannot be fully addressed through transgender drugs or surgeries. 

He also argued that transgender medical interventions neglect the developmental needs of children and fail to address the root cause of the child’s gender dysphoria.

The lawsuit noted that he had previously given expert testimony on these matters, saying that children are not equipped psychologically to make important life decisions and that gender transitions result in permanent social, medical, and psychiatric consequences. 

He has said that therapy for children should focus on resolving conflicts they feel with their biological sex rather than being immediately “affirmed” as transgender.

According to the lawsuit, Josephson was demoted at the behest of the university’s LGBT Center and several faculty members. It asserted that some faculty members created a hostile environment and leaked information about his demotion to discredit him as an expert witness. It stated that the university refused to renew his contract without citing any performance concerns.

The lawsuit accused the public university of violating Josephson’s First Amendment right to free speech and his 14th Amendment right to due process by demoting and ultimately firing him.

ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham hailed the settlement as a major victory for “free speech and common sense” on college campuses. He said public universities will hopefully learn from this settlement that “if they violate the First Amendment, they can be held accountable, and it can be very expensive.”

“[Josephson] risked his livelihood and reputation to speak the truth boldly, and the university punished him for expressing his opinion — ultimately by dismissing him,” he said. “But public universities have no business punishing professors simply because they hold different views. Dr. Josephson’s case illustrates why — because the latest and best science confirms what he stated all along.”

The university did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. 

Bishop Joseph Guo Jincai (left) and Bishop Yang Xiaoting (right) at Opening of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 24, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

High-ranking heads of state and Catholic bishops in China have remained notably silent following the death of Pope Francis, while reactions from political and religious leaders across the globe poured out on social media within hours of the pope’s passing on Monday morning. 

AsiaNews reported on Tuesday that Chinese officials are not permitted to express themselves publicly on Pope Francis’ death due the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s control over the Church there.

The Chinese government offered a brief statement nearly 24 hours after the Holy Father’s passing, only after reporters asked foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun about it on Tuesday. 

“China expresses its condolences for the death of Pope Francis,” he said, adding that “in recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive contacts and engaged in useful exchanges. China is ready to work with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations.” 

Notably, the CCP posted a tribute to Pope Benedict XVI after his passing two years ago, stating: “We entrust Benedict XVI to God’s mercy and ask him to grant him eternal rest in heaven.” Several days have passed since Pope Francis’ death with no similar statement from the CCP. 

“I mean, it’s really astonishing because they have an agreement with the Vatican,” Hudson Institute Fellow Nina Shea told CNA on Wednesday. “It’s a reflection of their refusal to acknowledge the supremacy of the papal authority over the Catholic Church and that they see the pope only in secular terms as a head of state, the Holy See.”

The Vatican-China agreement to allow Chinese-appointed bishops in the Catholic Church was renewed last year and is set to remain intact until October 2028, despite numerous reports of Chinese violations of the deal and continued persecution against Catholic bishops. 

“The absence of condolences,” Shea said, “is a sign that they do not see the pope as the religious head of the Catholic Church and they do not want their people to associate the pope, the papacy, with the Catholic Church in China.”

“This shows the futility of the Vatican’s approach,” she added. 

Catholic priests and bishops in China are required to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, she explained, which entails a pledge of independence from foreign influence — which includes the pope. 

Shea further described the Patriotic Association’s decision to remain silent on Pope Francis’ death as “a tightening of messaging,” which she said “is a continuous process in communist China.” 

Indeed, this shift comes as new regulations on religious activities in China are set to roll out across the country May 1. 

According to the new rules, “collective religious activities organized by foreigners in China are restricted to foreign participants only” with few exceptions. In addition, foreign clergy are banned from presiding over religious activities for Chinese people without the invitation of the Chinese government, severely limiting foreign missionary activity in the country.

In light of these stricter regulations, Shea pointed out, risk is elevated for bishops or dioceses who might signal allegiance to the Vatican. 

Post-conclave Vatican-China relations

With China appearing to back away from its strained diplomatic relationship with the Vatican after Pope Francis’ death, the future of the Vatican-China agreement is unclear. “There’s a lot of deception on the part of the Chinese about what it intends to do vis-a-vis the Vatican,” Shea said. 

China retains the upper hand, she explained, because “the only leverage that the Vatican has is its moral authority.” Unlike the Maoist regime, Xi Jinping’s China will not carry out a bloody persecution of Christians that will stir international outrage and incur economic sanctions and other consequences for the regime. 

“The Chinese are afraid to really openly crack down on the Church, so they want to disguise it and cover it up with diplomatic gestures,” she said, “They’ve abandoned the bloodier practices of the Mao period because they want Western trade and Western investment. And that’s what dictates the difference between their treatment of the Uyghurs and the treatment of the Catholic bishops.”

“The persecution of the Church [in China] is surgical,” Shea said, noting that while overt bloodshed is not the CCP’s play, the CCP has imprisoned 10 bishops — some for more than a decade — and systematically prevented the appointment of new bishops in cooperation with Rome, as the country’s remaining bishops continue to die of old age year by year. It has also abolished dioceses across the country. 

“They go after the bishops and priests,” Shea continued. “They know that it’s a hierarchical church, so they’re not doing mass imprisonment or mass detention like they did with the Uyghurs, because it is a hierarchical church. They don’t have to. They can decapitate [the Church] by rounding up bishops who are not cooperating that they know about.” 

“That’s why I think they should be underground,” she stated. 

As it stands, Catholic bishops run the risk of being “cruelly punished” by the regime with no due process, being “locked away in isolation for decades on end, or a years on end, or have their lives interrupted every other month with a detention, which you never know is going to come and it’s indefinite,” Shea said. They are repressed, but in such a way of “not driving away international investment and trade by the drawing the eye of the West.” 

As a conclave approaches, Shea expressed hope that the next pontiff will alter Vatican relations with China and ultimately abandon their fraught agreement. 

“The deal made things much worse because the Vatican is now actually covering up for the Communist Party in China and is covering up the persecution of the Church,” she said. “It’s been the policy in the Vatican since the 1990s to never criticize China in any way, regarding the Church or other atrocities such as forced abortions or the one-child policy.” 

Shea added: “I would encourage the U.S. [Vatican] ambassador [nominee] Brian Burch to try to open up their eyes to what is being covered up.”

Pope Francis meets with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Havana, Cuba. on Feb. 12, 2016. / Credit: Vatican Media

Munich, Germany, Apr 24, 2025 / 14:31 pm (CNA).

Like all popes since the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis made a point of reaching out to non-Catholics, building bridges and engaging in dialogue. His consistent efforts toward Christian unity over his 12-year pontificate produced several historic moments in ecumenical relations. 

While his interreligious achievements — like the 2019 Abu Dhabi declaration on human fraternity, signed by Pope Francis and the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb — have often garnered greater attention, the pope’s ecumenical initiatives with other Christian communities have also left a meaningful mark on his legacy. 

First pope to meet head of Russian Orthodox Church 

During his 12-year pontificate, Francis took important, even historical, ecumenical initiatives. In 2016, he became the first pope ever to meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Early on, in November 2014, the pope had already told Moscow Patriarch Kirill: “I’ll go wherever you want. You call me and I’ll go.” The meeting eventually took place, after months of secret planning, on Feb. 12, 2016, at José Martí International Airport near Havana, Cuba. The public was only notified a week in advance. 

The meeting lasted roughly two hours, after which a joint declaration was signed and gifts were exchanged. The joint declaration focused on anti-Christian persecution, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. 

It also lamented the hostilities in Ukraine, which were already underway for several years, although the full Russian invasion would not take place until 2022. In addition, the text voiced concern about the threat of secularism to religious freedom and the Christian roots of Europe. 

Other topics of discussion included poverty, the crisis in the family, abortion, and euthanasia. Together, the pope and the patriarch exhorted young Christians to live their faith in the world. 

In a brief speech after signing the declaration, Pope Francis said: “We speak as brothers, we have the same baptism, we are bishops. We speak of our churches, and we agree that unity is achieved by walking forward. We speak clearly, without ambiguity, and I must say I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in our conversation.” 

Finally, the pope expressed his wish that “all this” may be “for the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for the good of the whole faithful people of God, under the mantle of the holy Mother of God.”

In the following years, another meeting with Patriarch Kirill was planned but never became a reality after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kirill explicitly and outspokenly sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin in justifying the invasion. 

On March 16, 2022, just weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, the pope and the patriarch spoke via video call. “The conversation centered on the war in Ukraine and the role of Christians and their pastors in doing everything to ensure that peace prevails,” the Vatican press office said at the time. 

The Vatican noted that the pope thanked Patriarch Kirill for the meeting and agreed with him that “the Church must not use the language of politics but the language of Jesus.” 

“We are shepherds of the same holy people who believe in God, in the Holy Trinity, in the holy Mother of God: that is why we must unite in the effort to help peace, to help those who suffer, to seek ways of peace, to stop the shooting,” the press office quoted Pope Francis as saying. 

In April 2022, the pope told Argentine newspaper La Nación that “the Vatican has had to cancel a second meeting with Patriarch Kirill.” 

At the time, Francis said his relationship with Kirill was “very good,” but “our diplomacy understood that a meeting of the two of us at this time could cause a lot of confusion.” 

Lutheran dialogue 

Another important ecumenical initiative of Pope Francis was his trip to Sweden on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2016, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant revolt, which began in Germany with Martin Luther but also swept through Sweden. 

“We remember this anniversary with a renewed spirit and in the recognition that Christian unity is a priority, because we realize that much more unites us than separates us,” Francis said at the time. 

In a joint statement with the president of the Lutheran World Federation, Munib Yunan, the pope declared: “Fifty years of sustained and fruitful ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans have helped us to overcome many differences and have deepened our mutual understanding and trust. At the same time, we have drawn closer to one another through joint service to our neighbors — often in circumstances of suffering and persecution.” 

“Through dialogue and shared witness we are no longer strangers,” the statement added. “Rather, we have learned that what unites us is greater than what divides us.” 

“By drawing close in faith to Christ, by praying together, by listening to one another, by living Christ’s love in our relationships, we, Catholics and Lutherans, open ourselves to the power of the Triune God,” Pope Francis and Yunan stated. “Rooted in Christ and witnessing to him, we renew our determination to be faithful heralds of God’s boundless love for all humanity.” 

Building on work of predecessors 

Most of Pope Francis’ ecumenical efforts consisted of continuing and building upon the work of his predecessors. Like them, he received many ecumenical delegations in the Vatican, took part in ecumenical gatherings, and sent special messages for certain occasions. 

Theological breakthroughs uniting major groups of Christians to the Catholic Church were not made, although a study document titled “The Bishop of Rome: Primacy and Synodality in Ecumenical Dialogue and Responses to the Encyclical Ut Unum Sint” was published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity “with the agreement of His Holiness Pope Francis” in 2024. 

The text was intended to outline the entire ecumenical debate on papal primacy and provide suggestions “for a ministry of unity in a reunited Church,” including “a differentiated exercise of the primacy of the bishop of Rome.”

Cardinals process past Pope Francis’ body in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 24, 2025 / 13:46 pm (CNA).

Following the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican has announced which cardinals will offer the traditional “Novendialies” Masses — nine days of mourning marked by solemn Masses offered for the repose of the soul of the deceased pope.

In keeping with ancient custom, each day of the Novendiales includes a requiem Mass following the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis (2024). While the Masses are open to the public, each day traditionally focuses on a particular community or group associated with the pope’s ministry from the Diocese of Rome to the Eastern Churches.

The first Mass of the Novendiales will be the funeral of Pope Francis, held on Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square with the nine days of mourning concluding on Sunday, May 4. 

The second Novendiales Mass will also be in St. Peter’s Square with tens of thousands of young people taking part in the still-ongoing Jubilee of Teenagers, which had previously been scheduled to include the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis. The Mass the day after the funeral is also the Novendiales Mass in which all Vatican employees and their families are especially invited to attend.

Until May 4, the remainder of the Masses will take place in the evening inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, each presided over by a different cardinal and designated for a particular group in the Church. A minor change to the schedule was already announced with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández replacing Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell for the sixth Mass on May 1.

Below is the full schedule of Novendiales Masses and the cardinals who will preside:

Day 1: Saturday, April 26 — Funeral of Pope Francis

Presider: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals

Time: 10 a.m. | Location: St. Peter’s Square

Day 2: Sunday, April 27 — Mass for the Jubilee of Teenagers/for Vatican employees and faithful

Presider: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Vatican secretary of state

Time: 10:30 a.m. | Location: St. Peter’s Square

Day 3: Monday, April 28 — For Catholics and clergy in Rome

Presider: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome

Time: 5 p.m. | Location: Inside St. Peter’s Basilica

Day 4: Tuesday, April 29 — For chapters of the papal basilicas

Presider: Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Day 5: Wednesday, April 30 — For the papal chapel

Presider: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Note: Concelebration reserved for cardinals only

Day 6: Thursday, May 1 — For the Roman Curia

Presider: Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, former prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Day 7: Friday, May 2 — For the Eastern Churches

Presider: Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, former prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Day 8: Saturday, May 3 — For institutes of consecrated life and apostolic societies

Presider: Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Day 9: Sunday, May 4 — For the papal chapel

Presider: Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals

Time: 5 p.m.| Location: St. Peter’s Basilica

Note: Concelebration reserved for cardinals only

null / Credit: BUTENKOV ALEKSEI/Shutterstock

Vancouver, Canada, Apr 24, 2025 / 13:08 pm (CNA).

In a statement released ahead of the April 28 federal election, Canada’s bishops are calling on Catholics to vote with a renewed spirit of hope, guided by conscience and rooted in faith — with particular concern for the right to life, care for the vulnerable, and protection of religious freedom.

Framed within the Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope, the pastoral letter from the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages the faithful to reflect prayerfully on the challenges facing the country “with a spirit of hope and a vision for a better future.”

“In a free and democratic society, all those eligible to vote have not only a right but also a responsibility to engage with local candidates and political parties,” the bishops write. “We are called to discern which policies best serve the common good — that which the Church defines as ‘the sum of those conditions of … social life whereby people, families, and associations more adequately and readily may attain their own perfection’” (Gaudium et Spes, 74).

Among the many issues Catholics are called to consider, the bishops place particular emphasis on the right to life, stating: “This right is being undermined by the lack of legal protection for the unborn, the ongoing expansion of eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID), and the insufficient access to quality palliative care for those who are suffering at the end of life.”

The bishops call on Catholics to advocate for society’s most vulnerable members: “those living in poverty, victims of human trafficking, individuals suffering from mental illness and addiction, the homeless, and immigrants,” each of whom is described as “deserving of both social and legal support.”

The bishops also warn of “growing intolerance toward religious communities in Canada,” including “threats to remove charitable tax status simply for upholding values rooted in faith that diverge from prevailing secular ideologies.”

The election, the bishops write, is also an opportunity to support reconciliation and a just society: “We are called to walk together in justice and truth with Indigenous peoples” and to “examine policies that affect access to education, health care, housing, and social services for all.” The bishops also urge support for “initiatives that honor the family as the fundamental unit of society and uphold the dignity of every human person, created male and female in the image of God.”

“In a time of significant economic uncertainty,” the bishops continue, “Canada needs a national economic vision that promotes the common good while respecting international obligations and fostering global solidarity. Economic development must be rooted in justice, stewardship of creation, and care for the vulnerable — both at home and abroad.”

The bishops close by reminding the faithful that political engagement must be grounded in prayer: “After careful reflection on these matters in the light of faith, we are called to form our consciences prayerfully and to express our convictions through our vote.”

They encourage Catholics to “pray for our country, for all political candidates, and for our fellow citizens” and, before casting their ballots, to “pause in personal prayer — perhaps by reciting the Lord’s Prayer — and ask God’s blessing upon those who will be elected to lead our nation.”

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

“The Chosen” actor Jonathan Roumie meets Pope Francis at the Vatican on Aug. 11, 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Celebrities who had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis during his papacy are remembering the late pontiff, sharing their experiences with the pope and reflecting on his warmth and legacy. 

Actor Antonio Banderas, known for his role in the “Zorro” movie series among other films, paid tribute to Pope Francis in an Instagram post.

“Pope Francisco has died — a man who, at the head of the Catholic Church, showed kindness, love, and mercy to the neediest people,” he wrote.

The Catholic actor was recently seen participating in a Palm Sunday procession with the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Tears and Favors, in which he is a steward, in his hometown of Málaga, Spain. 

Comedian Jimmy Fallon shared a photo of himself with the late pope taken last year during a gathering of comics hosted at the Vatican that included Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Rock, and others.

“It was an honor meeting Pope Francis last summer. I’m glad I made you laugh. Thank you for your encouraging words. Rest in peace,” Fallon wrote on Instagram. 

Whoopi Goldberg, who met the pope on two occasions including at last year’s event with comedians at the Vatican, wrote on Instagram that Francis “seemed to remember that Christ’s love enveloped believer and [nonbeliever].”

The comedian compared Francis to St. John XXIII and remembered him for his “love of humanity and laughter.”

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio recalled his “deeply moving” meeting with the Holy Father in 2016.

“Pope Francis was a transformational leader — not only for the Catholic Church but also for environmental reform and activism,” DiCaprio wrote.

DiCaprio, a lifelong environmentalist, said the pope “demonstrated a deep and unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship, most notably through his groundbreaking 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.”

He called the environmental encyclical a “powerful document” that “served as a clarion call for a fundamental shift in how we relate to the planet.”

During his 2016 meeting with the pope, the two discussed climate change. DiCaprio called the experience “enlightening, deeply moving, and thought-provoking.”

“Pope Francis was one of the most extraordinary spiritual leaders of our time. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of environmentalists around the world. May he rest in peace,” he concluded.

Catholic filmmaker Martin Scorcese called the Holy Father “a remarkable human being” in a statement shared with ABC News. 

“He acknowledged his own failings. He radiated wisdom. He radiated goodness. He had an ironclad commitment to the good. He knew in his soul that ignorance was a terrible plague on humanity. So he never stopped learning,” Scorsese said.

He added: “The loss for me runs deep — I was lucky enough to know him, and I will miss his presence and his warmth. The loss for the world is immense. But he left a light behind, and it can never be extinguished.”

Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus Christ in the series “The Chosen,” met Pope Francis in 2021 and 2022. 

In a post on Instagram, Roumie wrote: “As a Catholic, getting to meet the pope, the successor to St. Peter, is one of the grandest honors a person can receive. The fact that I had been given the grace to meet him twice is something for which I will ever be profoundly grateful.”

“His humility, his kindness and his gentleness were the marks of his pontificate for me; traits that I endeavor to embody in my own life, especially in my encounters with people,” he added.

Roumie recalled the Holy Father’s “model of Christ’s love towards humanity,” which “always felt like a direct invitation to ‘follow him’ along that path, that ‘narrow road’ however challenging it could sometimes be in this existence; always knowing that in the end, it is worth everything.”

“You will be missed Santo Padre,” he continued. “But now you dwell in that heavenly place, in the eternal presence of he who created you and formed you … you are, once again, his. And what a place it must be!” 

Another Catholic actor who recalled a special meeting with Pope Francis was David Henrie, best known for his role as Justin Russo in Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.”

When Henrie and his wife, Maria, met the pope in 2018, the couple was seeking prayers after experiencing three miscarriages. Henrie asked the Holy Father to pray for him and his wife as they were trying to conceive. Pope Francis took their hands, gave them a special blessing, and told them not to worry — that a baby would be coming. Nine months after this meeting, the Henries welcomed their first baby into the world, Pia Philomena Francesca Henrie — Francesca, in honor of Pope Francis.

Henrie wrote in an Instagram post: “May his soul rest in peace. After three miscarriages we got to receive a special blessing from Pope Francis. Nine months later our little Pia Francesca was born. I’ll forever be grateful for that moment. Let’s pray for the next pope!”

Pope Pius XII. / Credit: Vatican Media

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apr 24, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

“There has been a shift of late regarding Pius XII,” historian William Doino told CNA. The wartime pontiff has often been vilified, Doino said, adding: “He will soon get due recognition” for efforts to rescue Jews and others persecuted by Nazis and fascists more than 80 years ago. 

This year, Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is marked on April 24 in the United States and Israel, according to the lunar calendar of Jewish observance. Elsewhere,  International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on Jan. 27.

Doino has spent decades researching the legacy of Pope Pius XII and the wartime pontiff’s efforts to rescue Jews, Allied military personnel, and others pursued by Nazi occupiers. He has interviewed clergy and diplomats who knew Pius XII personally and who could give firsthand testimony. Unlike other researchers, Doino recorded these interviews, which inform his reports on the pontiff.

He is also co-author of “The Pius War: Responses to the Critics of Pius XII.” The editor of the book is Rabbi David G. Dalin, who noted that prominent Jews, including Albert Einstein, Golda Meir, and Chief Rabbi Yitgzhak HaLevi Herzog, lauded Pius XII for saving thousands of Jews.

Doino said “a mountain of evidence” provided by modern research and newly revealed documents offer new insights into Pope Pius XII (the former Eugenio Pacelli), and his efforts have been missed by his critics. However, Doino also said in an interview that the Church must confront the “increasing evils of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, which pose a grave threat to the Jewish community across the globe.” 

Leading Catholic figures, such as Pius XII, responded by fighting “these dangerous sins” and defending Jews. “The God-given dignity and fundamental human rights of every human being needs to be respected at all times — our Catholic faith demands nothing less,” he said. 

Pius XII, like his predecessors, sought to be neutral and work for peace. “He was not just a mild-mannered diplomat. He was willing to think outside the box and take risks,” Doino said. He was under tremendous pressure, and rescuers were under threat of death. Many efforts by the pope and the Church were too dangerous to record on paper, Doino affirmed, presenting a challenge to historians. Doino said Vatican clergy took oral instructions from the pope to rescue Jews.

Multiple authors, including Catholic journalist John Cornwell, have linked Pope Pius XII to the destruction of European Jews. Cornwell argued that before and during World War II, Pius XII legitimized Adolf Hitler’s extermination regime. Cornwell accused him of antisemitism and seeking to aggrandize the papacy. But extensive information exists that challenges the narrative of papal indifference, or even complicity, in the crimes.

Doino said Pius XII used diplomatic and covert means to chastise Nazis for their eugenics and racism and to avert war. But the fascists and Nazis would not listen, Doino said, “for as we know, psychopaths and murderers do not listen to honorable people.” He also pointed out that Pius XI, Pius XII’s predecessor, issued in 1937 Mit Brennender Sorge, an encyclical denouncing antisemitism and fascism, which Pius XII affirmed. 

Sweeping generalizations about the Church and the papacy, Doino said, should be discarded even though there were specific instances of antisemitic European clergy and laity who supported the Axis. Doino also confirmed that the pope actively assisted anti-Nazi resisters and sought to overthrow Adolf Hitler.

Doino said researchers must look beyond Vatican files to document Pius XII’s efforts. He said that in “Myron Taylor, the Man Nobody Knew,” author C. Evan Stewart revealed in 2023 that Taylor — the official U.S. representative to the Holy See — learned that the pope, at a famous 1940 meeting with Nazi diplomat Joachim von Ribbentrop, demanded that two Vatican representatives be given permission to visit Poland to document Nazi atrocities when he learned that Jews were being targeted. The German admitted that Jews were being exterminated and then refused the papal request. “This proves that Pius XII defended the Jews,” Doino said, and gives the lie to claims otherwise.

Pius XII’s critics have a hard time proving that he was antisemitic or indifferent to the plight of European Jews. “What they do is try to link him to other officials who were, sadly, antisemitic or anti-Jewish. But even in those instances, God worked on them. Some who were antisemitic, when faced with the Nazi horrors, changed or allowed their human sympathies to transcend their bigotries so that they could rescue Jews,” he said. 

Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, is known to have rescued thousands of Jews while serving as a papal diplomat in Turkey and Greece during World War II. Archbishop Clemens August Graf von Galen of Münster, Germany, protested Nazi euthanasia in 1941.

“This would not have happened if Pope Pius had not authorized them. It was done under his orders and inspiration,” Doino said. “To separate the actions of Roncalli from those of the pope is incorrect.”

Doino said that critics considering the horrors of the Holocaust should “be humble and open to the truth and follow the facts wherever they lead.” He noted that historian Father Hubert Wolf, an acute critic of Pius XII, has since called for a reassessment of the pope’s legacy on the basis of new documentation.

Vatican documents revealed by papal archivist Johan Ickx revealed in “Le Bureau — Les Juifs de Pie XII” (“The Office — The Jews of Pius XII”), published in 2020 and based on a decade of research, that the pope consistently sought peace and set up an office to save endangered people.

Ickx said: “I think there are 2,800 cases, there’s a list equivalent to Schindler’s list, a ‘Pacelli’s list’; I wonder how it is that the Holy See never publicized it.” During the German occupation of Italy, 81% of the 39,000 Jews in Italy were saved.

Suzanne Brown-Fleming of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum told an October 2023 conference in Rome, for instance, that before the Second Vatican Council, many Catholics thought of Jews and Judaism as “something dangerous, something different.” But many battled these prejudices and saved Jews “sometimes at the cost of their lives.” 

Among the rescuers, she said, were those who inspired the Second Vatican Council, such as Pope John XXIII, who inaugurated it. She said laity, parishes, seminaries, religious orders, and papal institutions harbored Jews, producing false identities and smuggling Jews into Switzerland under the threat of death.