Pope Leo XIV has paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Francis, on the first anniversary of his death, reflecting on Francis’s powerful message of divine mercy and his unwavering commitment to the world’s impoverished.
Speaking to reporters in Italian aboard the papal plane, as it travelled from Angola to Equatorial Guinea on the final leg of his four-nation African tour, the American pontiff stated: “We thank the Lord for the great gift of the life of Francis, to the church and the world.”
Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday last year, aged 88, following a stroke. He had been recuperating at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia, managing to deliver a final Easter greeting to crowds during a popemobile procession through St Peter’s Square.
His death ultimately paved the way for the conclave that elected Leo just weeks later. It is understood that Francis had laid the groundwork for this outcome by championing the former missionary priest, Robert Prevost, whom he regarded as “a saint.”
In his tribute, Leo recalled with precision some of Francis’ most memorable homilies and messages, saying he “gave so much to the church with his life, with his witness, with his word and with his gestures.”
“So many times what he did was live truly being close to the poorest, the smallest, the sick, children, the elderly,” he said.
He cited Francis’ preaching promoting human fraternity and “authentic respect” among all people, as well as a special Holy Year he called in 2015 to emphasize God’s mercy and forgiveness. Francis famously opened the year in the Central African Republic, and Leo delivered his tribute just as his plane was flying over that part of Africa.
Leo recalled Francis’ first Sunday noon prayer as pope, and a Mass he celebrated two days before his pontificate was officially inaugurated, when he preached about an adulterous woman “and how he spoke from the heart of the mercy of God.”
“Let us pray that he is still enjoying the mercy of the Lord,” Leo said.
Books recall Francis’ life and what he thought of Prevost
The anniversary was being marked with commemorations in Rome, including the release of commemorative books about and recollections of Francis, and a Mass on Tuesday evening at St. Mary Major basilica, where Francis’ tomb is located.
Among the flurry of recollections, one by Salvatore Cernuzio stands out because it offers a view of the current pope from his predecessor.
Cernuzio, an Italian reporter with Vatican Media, the Holy See’s in-house news operation, developed a close personal relationship with Francis and often traveled in his entourage when the pope left the Vatican. However, the book, entitled “Padre,” or “Father,” details the private side of their relationship, of Cernuzio’s visits with Francis at the Santa Marta hotel where he lived, and their conversations.
“Him? He’s a saint,” Francis told Cernuzio of the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, whom Francis had brought to Rome in 2023 to take up the important job heading the Vatican’s bishop-vetting office.
Francis’ assessment, delivered in 2023 after he had announced Prevost would be included in his new batch of cardinals that year, adds even more weight to the hypothesis that Francis saw in Prevost a possible successor.
Cernuzio recalls that when Francis called someone a saint, it was usually “to describe people who are able to handle conflicts, tensions, and complex situations with composure, and who are able to foster a sense of community.”
Prevost was spotted and promoted by Francis
The hypothesis that Francis laid the groundwork for Prevost’s election is well-founded, given it’s clear Francis had his eye on Prevost from the start and greatly appreciated his experience as a missionary who spent two decades working in Peru.
After Prevost finished a second consecutive stint as head of the Order of St. Augustine, Francis sent him in 2014 to be bishop of the complicated diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and he rose up within the Peruvian bishops conference from there to take on leadership roles.
Francis then moved Prevost to head one of the most important Vatican jobs — prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — that gave Prevost crucial experience in the Vatican bureaucracy and contacts with the cardinals who would eventually choose Francis’ successor.
The combination made Prevost a viable contender in a future papal election, overcoming the otherwise impossible conclave hurdle of his American citizenship. There had long been a taboo in the church against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power the country already wields.
The two men, who later became good friends, had known each other from when Prevost was the Augustinian prior general and the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Prevost has recounted that at one point Bergoglio had expressed interest in assigning an Augustinian priest to a specific job in his archdiocese.
“And I, as prior general, said ‘I understand, Your Eminence, but he’s got to do something else’ and so I transferred him somewhere else,” Prevost told parishioners in his home state of Illinois in 2024.
Prevost said he “naively” thought the Francis wouldn’t remember him after his 2013 election as pope, and that regardless “he’ll never appoint me bishop” due to the disagreement years earlier.
Bergoglio not only made him bishop, he laid the groundwork for Prevost to succeed him.
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