Mary Mother of God
Roman Catholic Church

On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis completed his earthly pilgrimage and returned to the Father. From the moment he was elected in 2013, he led the People of God with humility, compassion, and unwavering dedication to the Gospel. As the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit to hold the papacy, he brought a distinctive pastoral spirit — rooted in mercy and a profound concern for the poor and the marginalized.

From the earliest days of his pontificate, Pope Francis called the Church to be one that “goes forth” — a Church not content to remain within its own walls, but one willing to reach the peripheries of society. He gave voice to the forgotten, the excluded, and the suffering: the poor, the elderly, migrants, and those whose pain often goes unseen. His journeys around the world gave witness to this mission, as he stood in places of conflict and poverty, offering gestures of peace, words of justice, and a deep compassion that transcended borders.

One of the defining moments of his papacy came in 2015 with the release of Laudato Si’, an encyclical that echoed the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Grounded in the Church’s social teaching, it reminded all people of goodwill of our shared responsibility to care for creation and to defend the dignity of every human being, especially the most vulnerable. Its impact was far-reaching, inspiring dialogue and action not only within the Church but across global communities.

Date posted on April 22, 2025, Diocese of Hamilton