Cardinals process during the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square, Saturday, April 26, 2025 / Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/EWTN News

Vatican City, Apr 28, 2025 / 07:25 am (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away Easter Monday, April 21. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years. His burial at St. Mary Major took place Saturday, April 26.

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

Breaking News / CNA

CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 07:13 am (CNA).

The College of Cardinals announced Monday that the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

The pivotal proclamation came following a morning General Congregation meeting at the Vatican, where cardinals have been gathering daily since Pope Francis’ burial at St. Mary Major Basilica on April 26.

The date falls within the traditional 15-20 day window following a pope’s death, allowing sufficient time for the “novendiales” mourning period and for cardinal electors to arrive from across the globe.

Of the 134 cardinals who will take part — those under 80 years of age — nearly all have already arrived in Rome. The remaining few are expected within days, according to Vatican sources.

The voting will take place beneath Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

Following tradition, the cardinals will celebrate a “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of May 7 before processing into the Sistine Chapel while chanting the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” invoking the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Once inside, each cardinal will take an oath to observe the procedures, maintain secrecy, and vote freely for the candidate they believe most worthy. The chapel doors will then be closed to the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the conclave. A two-thirds majority — 90 votes — is required to elect the new pope.

The world will watch for the traditional signals from the Sistine Chapel chimney: black smoke indicating an inconclusive ballot, white smoke announcing that a new pope has been elected.

Pope Francis was responsible for appointing 108 of the cardinal electors who will now choose his successor, dramatically reshaping the geographic makeup of the College of Cardinals during his pontificate. The college now includes representatives from countries with small Catholic populations and from regions previously underrepresented in papal elections.

The statue of St. Peter at the square named for him in the Vatican. / Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA

CNA Staff, Apr 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The recent death of Pope Francis on April 21 has reignited interest in the centuries-old “Prophecy of the Popes,” also known as the St. Malachy prophecy, which some say indicates that Pope Francis was the last pope the Church will ever have.

The over-900-year-old prophecy, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, purports to describe every single pope from the year 1143 until the end of time — and Pope Francis appears, at least at a glance, to be the last pope described in the prophecy, suggesting the world will end now that his papacy has concluded.

A closer look shows that there is some significant evidence against the authenticity of this alleged prophecy. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the ‘Prophecy of the Popes’?

The document in question was allegedly a private revelation given to the medieval figure St. Malachy, who served as archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, in the 1100s. Reportedly, he made a visit to Rome in which he had a vision of the future popes and wrote them down.

The prophecy consists of a list of 112 short phrases; enigmatic “mottoes” in Latin that are supposed to represent the popes from St. Malachy’s time onward. 

The mottoes generally contain references to one of several things, including the pope’s name (his papal name, his birth name, or his family name), his place of origin, or a heraldic crest connected with him (his papal arms, his family crest, or the crest of his order or place of origin). They often involve wordplay regarding these things, though that is more obvious in Latin than in English.

The mottoes are believed by some to predict the succession of Catholic popes, concluding with a final pope referred to as “Peter the Roman.”

The next-to-last motto in the prophecy of the popes has been associated with Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned the papacy in 2013 and died at the end of 2022. The election of Pope Francis as his successor brings us to the last name in the prophecy of the popes, which many have taken to indicate the final pope at the end of the world.

This passage reads as follows:

“Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.”

Is it genuine?

This prophecy is not a Vatican-approved private revelation, though it has been influential in some Catholic circles for several hundred years. There is evidence to doubt its authenticity, however.

First, the prophecy was not published until 1595, though St. Malachy died in 1148. There is no record of the prophecy existing in the intervening 447 years. Allegedly, this was because the prophecy lay forgotten in a Roman archive, and it was not rediscovered until 1590.

While the fact that there is no mention of the document in the hundreds of years between the times of its reported composition and its rediscovery does not prove that it is false, it does cast significant doubt on its authenticity.

It has been proposed that the document, rather than being an authentic revelation, is a forgery composed around 1590 and then planted in the archive for political purposes — a claim that would explain the document’s lengthy absence.

Do its contents hold true?

The logical approach is to examine the prophecy’s contents to see which theory of its origins they are more consistent with: Do the contents seem to suggest that it was written in the 1100s, or do they suggest that it was written around 1590?

Many observers have thought the latter. One reason is that the “mottoes” for the period prior to 1590 are very easy to connect with the popes they allegedly represent. By contrast, the mottoes assigned to the popes coming after 1590 are much harder to connect with the popes they allegedly represent and often can be connected only in a contrived way.

Some examples of mottoes that are easy to connect to pre-1590 popes include:

• “Ex castro Tiberis” (“From a castle on the Tiber”). This is connected with Celestine II (1143–1144), who was born in Citta di Castello (“City of the Castle”), which is on the banks of the Tiber river.

• “Frigidus abbas” (“Cold Abbot”). This is connected with Benedict XII (1334–1342), who had been the abbot of a monastery at Fontfroide (“Cold Spring”).

• “De parvo homine” (“From a small man”). This is connected to Pius III (1503), whose family name was Piccolomini, which is derived from piccolo (small) and uomo (man).  

By contrast, some examples of post-1590 popes include:

• “Pia civitas in bello” (“Pious city in war”). This is connected with Innocent IV (1591), but there is no good way to link him with this motto. Some have pointed to the fact that he was patriarch of Jerusalem before his election to the papacy, and Jerusalem could be thought of as a “pious city,” but so could Rome and many others. Almost any Christian city would count, and Jerusalem was not a Christian city at this time. Furthermore, Jerusalem was not at war when he was patriarch.

• “Aquila rapax” (“Rapacious eagle”). This is connected with Pius VII (1800–1823), but there is no good way to link him with this motto. Some have proposed that his reign overlapped with that of Napoleon and that Napoleon could be described as a rapacious eagle (that is, a hungry commander of armies), but this is very tenuous and makes the motto not a description of the pope but of someone else who was on the world stage during his reign.

• “Religio depopulata” (“Religion destroyed”). This is connected with Benedict XV (1914–1922), but there is no good way to link him in particular with this motto. There is no obvious connection to his name, family, place of origin, or coat of arms. He did not destroy religion or religious life. Neither were either destroyed during his reign. He did reign during World War I, but that did not destroy either. He also reigned when communism came to power in Russia. That didn’t destroy religion in his day or in Italy. And again, we’d be connecting the motto with something other than the pope. If that were allowed then it would be possible to connect every motto with something that happened somewhere in the world during a pope’s day, and the prophecies would have no particular value as they would all be applicable to any pope.

What should we make of all this?

Let’s return now to the motto that supposedly describes Pope Francis: “Peter the Roman.” The name Peter has no clear connection to Francis, whose baptisimal name was Jorge Mario Bergolio (other than the fact that he held the office of St. Peter, the papacy). And despite having some Italian ancestry, Francis was not Roman by birth but rather Argentinian. 

There’s more: The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that even though the prophecy designates “Peter the Roman” as the last pope, the prophecy does not say that no popes will intervene between him and his predecessor, designated “Gloria olivæ” (“The glory of the olive”). The prophecy merely says that Peter the Roman, whenever he shows up, will be the last. 

Thus there is no compelling reason to believe that Peter the Roman is Pope Francis. (Many news articles and commentators also claim that the prophecy predicts Peter the Roman will show up in 2027, but in reality the document makes no mention of a year.)

Taking all of this together, Catholics need not worry much about St. Malachy’s prophecies. It is not an approved apparition, and the evidence is consistent with it being a forgery composed around 1590.

More fundamentally, Jesus indicated that we would not know the time of the end — and in keeping with Our Lord’s warning, predictions of the end of the world based on the Bible have a dismal track record. Trying to predict the end of time based on an unapproved private revelation that shows signs of being forged is even more misguided. 

We should trust God, live according to his word, and leave the future in his hands.

As Jesus said:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day (Mt 6:34).”

This piece was adapted from a blog post by Jimmy Akin first published in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Feb. 24, 2013.

Archbishop J.Michael Miller, CSB (file photo) / Briancontractor / Wikimeda (CC BY-SA 3.0)

CNA Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 21:48 pm (CNA).

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, British Columbia, is calling for prayer after a deadly car-ramming attack claimed at least 11 lives during a Filipino heritage celebration in the Canadian city.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of the tragic events that took place yesterday during the Lapu-Lapu Day celebration in Vancouver,” Archbishop Miller said in his April 27 statement. “What should have been a joyful gathering to honour Filipino heritage has been overshadowed by sorrow and shock.”

A man drove an SUV into crowds attending the Filipino community’s Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 20 others.

Vancouver Police said they arrested a 30-year-old suspect at the scene after the incident, which occurred around 8:14 p.m. local time.

Interim Police Chief Steve Rai told journalists the attack is not believed to be terrorism-related, noting the unnamed suspect was known to “police and healthcare professionals related to mental health.”

The street festival celebrated Datu Lapu-Lapu, a national hero of the the Philippines.

“The Filipino community is a vibrant and faith-filled part of our archdiocese,” said Archbishop Miller. “In moments like this, your spirit of hope, resilience, and deep trust in God’s providence shines even amid darkness.”

The archbishop encouraged prayer for those affected by the violence.

“I encourage all of us to come together in prayer, asking the Lord to pour out his mercy upon those affected and to grant strength to all who are carrying heavy hearts,” he said. “May our Blessed Mother intercede for us, bringing comfort and healing to Vancouver.”

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed solidarity on X with the victims’ families on April 27, saying, “Last night, families lost a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a son or a daughter. Those families are now living every family’s nightmare. I know that I join all Canadians in mourning with you.”

Scenes from the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025 / Vatican

Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 21:29 pm (CNA).

The six-kilometer journey that transported Pope Francis’ body from St. Peter’s Basilica to St. Mary Major featured profound symbolism and emotion. Here are some of the more significant moments:

Departing through “the door of his home”

After the funeral Mass, pallbearers carried the coffin not through St. Peter’s Square but via the Perugino Door, steps from Casa Santa Marta — the Pope’s Vatican residence throughout his 12-year pontificate — from which he often “escaped” for surprise visits around Rome.

The Mexican popemobile as hearse

In a gesture rich with meaning, the coffin was transported in a white popemobile that Mexico had gifted to the Vatican in 2017 — a modified Dodge Ram that the pope used during his historic 2016 visit to the country. Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Mexico lasted six days, from Friday, February 12, to Wednesday, February 17, 2016, when he visited five Mexican cities.

From Vatican to Rome crossing the Tiber

The procession crossed the Tiber River via the Prince Amadeo of Savoy Bridge, symbolically marking the passage from Vatican City to Rome. This moment represented Pope Francis’ intimate connection with his role as Bishop of Rome.

The Bishop of Rome’s final journey

Amid applause from attendees, the procession advanced along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, one of Rome’s main arteries, where thousands of faithful gathered to bid their final farewell to the Argentine pontiff. The route also included the iconic Piazza Venezia, Rome’s neuralgic center, before turning toward the Imperial Forums, connecting Francis’ pontificate with the Eternal City’s millennia of history.

Passing the Jesuit church

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff in history, maintained a special relationship with the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the main headquarters of the Society of Jesus. On July 31, 2013, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, he presided at a concelebration in this church. During each apostolic journey outside Italy, he sought to meet with local Jesuits.

The Colosseum and his final Way of the Cross

One of the most moving moments was when the coffin passed by the Roman Colosseum. As pope, Francis presided each Good Friday over the traditional Way of the Cross, praying for peace and remembering Christian martyrs. Due to health problems, Pope Francis had been unable to preside over this prayer at the historic site since 2023.

The Via Merulana and Corpus Christi

Traveling along Via Merulana, the procession left the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Rome diocese, in the background, recalling Francis’ special bond with his role as Bishop of Rome.

Via Merulana is the traditional route for Corpus Christi processions in Rome, dating back to Pope Gregory XIII, who established this route for religious processions between the two basilicas during the Jubilee of 1575.

Peter returned to his Mother: St. Mary Major

The culminating moment was the arrival at St. Mary Major Basilica, where Francis chose to be buried due to his profound devotion to the Byzantine icon of the Salus Populi Romani. This place held special significance for him, as he visited before and after each apostolic journey to entrust his mission to the Virgin Mary.

Francis rests near St. Jerome and Bernini

Besides Pope Francis, seven other pontiffs, various saints, and famous figures are buried in this church. Some have special connections to the late pope, including St. Jerome, whom Francis honored by instituting the Sunday of the Word of God on the saint’s liturgical memorial.

His tomb is steps away from Argentina in Rome

St. Mary Major Basilica is located just steps from the most Argentine place in the country: the Argentine embassy to Italy. Francis never returned to his homeland after being elected pontiff, and rumors circulated for years about his desire to be buried in Buenos Aires.

White roses from St. Thérèse of Lisieux on Pope Francis’ tomb

Pope Francis had a special devotion to the French Carmelite mystic, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose symbol is the white rose. The pope once explained his connection to these flowers, telling journalists in January 2015 after his trip to the Philippines: “When I don’t know how things will go, I have the habit of asking St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus to take the problem in her hands and send me a rose.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis greets young people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on April 17, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

In a video message published after his death, but recorded in January, Pope Francis encouraged young people to work on listening well to others.

The video, shared by the Italian weekly magazine “Oggi,” was made public one day after the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, who died at the Vatican on April 21. 

In the video, recorded on Jan. 8, Pope Francis addressed a group of teens and young adults participating in “Listening Workshops,” an initiative started by the Italian Luca Drusian.

According to Vatican Media, the idea behind the workshops is for young people to discuss different topics while experiencing the beauty of both listening to others and being heard.

“Dear boys and girls, one of the most important things in life is to listen — to learn how to listen,” Francis said in the recording, taken in his Santa Marta residence.

“When someone speaks to you, wait for them to finish so you can really understand, and then, if you feel like it, respond. But the important thing is to listen,” he said, explaining they should not rush to give an answer.

The pope said, “look closely at people — people don’t listen. Halfway through an explanation, they’ll answer, and that doesn’t help peace. Listen — listen a lot,” he urged.

Francis also told young people to listen to their grandparents, who “teach us so much.”

The posthumous papal message was made public as an estimated 200,000 people, many of them teenagers, attended Mass in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of April 27.

The Mass was celebrated both as part of the Church’s second day of the “novendiales,” nine days of mourning, for Pope Francis, and as part of the Jubilee of Teenagers, which took place in Rome April 25-27.

The day after the late pope’s funeral and burial, tens of thousands of people visited his tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In the afternoon, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, led vespers in a packed basilica. The College of Cardinals also attended.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin presides over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025, held in St. Peter’s Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps as “instruments of mercy for humanity” in the world today. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday held in St. Peter’s Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps as “instruments of mercy for humanity” in the world today. 

“Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred, and violence: This is the great teaching of Pope Francis,” Parolin said in his Sunday homily.

“Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness toward those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy,” he added. 

Approximately 200,000 people participated in the outdoor Mass offered for the late pontiff on the second day of the Church’s “Novendiales” mourning period, the Holy See Press Office reported. 

“Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection,” Parolin said. “It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity.”

Insisting that people’s affections for the late pope “must not remain a mere emotion of the moment,” Parolin said “the Church must welcome his legacy” by “opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another.” 

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims who took part in Jubilee of Teenagers festivities from April 25–27 were also present at the Divine Mercy Mass dedicated to the late pontiff, including several European scouts groups, such as Italy’s Scouts D’Europa, and American parish groups, including youth from the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia.

Addressing the throngs of teenagers present in the square — many of whom were shielding themselves from the hot morning sun under colorful hats and umbrellas — Parolin encouraged them to be close to Jesus Christ and to show his “merciful face” to all those they encounter in life.

“I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you,” Parolin said to applause from those gathered in the square. 

“[Jesus] comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams,” he said to young people. “He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love.” 

The Mass celebration for the second Sunday of Easter concluded with the singing of the midday Regina Coeli prayer before an image of the icon of “Salus Populi Romani” (“Health of the Roman People”) placed next to the main altar erected in St. Peter’s Square.

Judy Henderson spent 36 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Now she works with Catholic Charities helping women, children, and families in need. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Judy Henderson

CNA Staff, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Judy Henderson spent 36 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, leaving her 3-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter behind while she was behind bars. Despite the hardship, Henderson never lost hope. Written above the sink in her cell was the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, which served as her daily reminder that God had plans for her future.

She didn’t wait around for that future to unfold, however; instead, she got to work helping other incarcerated mothers and still serves in this capacity today. Currently an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Henderson continues to assist mothers and families in need.

She has also written a book called “When the Light Finds Us: From a Life Sentence to a Life Transformed,” released on April 15, in which she shares her inspiring story from wrongful conviction to redemption.

Raised in a Christian household, Henderson was the oldest of eight. She grew up, got married, and had her daughter, Angel, and then her son, Chip, nine years later. Her marriage, which was physically and emotionally abusive, ended after 12 years.

Henderson, along with her children, then moved back to her hometown of Springfield, Missouri, to be closer to her parents and for a fresh start. However, within months of the move Henderson was charmed by a new man. 

“He was very suave and debonair and wore a three-piece suit and had been in the ministry and a real estate broker and just everything that you would think a woman would want,” she told CNA in an interview. 

Henderson shared that even her parents loved him because they “thought he was a good Christian.” 

One day he showed up at Henderson’s home with suitcases and told her he was moving in. Henderson was taken aback and told him she wasn’t going to live with a man she wasn’t married to, especially with her children living with her.

When questioned as to why he felt the need to move in, Henderson recalled him telling her: “‘I think you need me. I want to love you and take care of you and the children and for us to be a happy family.’”

“As a battered woman, our thinking and the way we view things aren’t from a healthy lens,” she explained. “And so I was already kind of like Pavlov’s dogs, conditioned, and to be a ‘yes,’ ‘yes sir,’ ‘I want to take care of you’ kind of woman. Never thinking that there was any side to him that was not just good. And I did not see any of the signs. I didn’t even know what to look for because back then we didn’t have the battered women syndrome. We didn’t know the definition of the different stages that battered women go through.”

Soon after, Henderson began to see his bad side, which included dealing cocaine. Manipulated by her boyfriend, the two planned to rob a jeweler in Springfield, Missouri. However, the robbery turned deadly when the jeweler refused to hand over the valuables. Henderson’s boyfriend fired his gun several times, killing the jeweler and leaving Henderson injured.

Both were charged with murder, but only Henderson was sentenced to life without parole for 50 years for capital murder. A major issue in her trial, which was later deemed unconstitutional, was that both Henderson and her boyfriend shared the same attorney. 

“The only reason he had him [the attorney] along with me is to make sure the strategy did not include him or nothing [was] being said bad about him or me taking the stand against him. It was another manipulating tool that he wanted to control,” Henderson said.

Henderson entered prison and admitted that she “was very angry with God.” 

The mother of two was able to see her daughter throughout the years; however, her ex-husband did not allow Henderson to see her son from the age of 5 until 16, causing her more anger.

“There’s two things you can do with anger — you can get bitter or you can get better. And I chose better because nobody cared that I was angry in prison. Everybody was angry in prison,” she shared.

So Henderson started to deal with her anger and “started fighting those emotions that Satan loves for us to feel.”

“I stood on the fact that I was going home because God’s promises are always ‘yes’ and ‘amen,’ and he promised in Jeremiah 29:11, ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ ‘a future,’ and my future was not prison. That’s not what God gave me.”

While in prison, Henderson became a certified paralegal and mentor for others who were incarcerated. She also worked toward legislative reform and led efforts to ensure that battered women could use their histories of abuse as legal defense. Her work in this area led to a landmark decision in Missouri that recognized battered women’s syndrome as legal defense. 

She also pioneered the PATCH (Parents and Their Children) Program, which creates a safer, less traumatic experience for children visiting their incarcerated mothers. A trailer is used outside the prison and is decorated to look like a home with a TV, kitchen, and living room, and children never see handcuffs or guards, only volunteers who escort the children to their mothers. 

“I kept very, very busy being productive,” she recalled. “I thought either you can do the time or the time can do you. And so I did the time. I got educated in every program they had to offer me.”

One program that deeply touched Henderson and brought her back to Christ was Residents Encounter Christ, a Catholic ministry that offered “lifers” — those with a life sentence — a chance at a three-day retreat to encounter Christ, which Henderson said helped her to “understand what the love of God was really about.”

On Dec. 20, 2017, Henderson received an unexpected visitor — then-Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri. At the sight of him she dropped to her knees crying. He approached her, took her by the shoulders, and said, “I want to apologize for the state of Missouri for not looking at your case sooner, and for you having to spend 36 years of your life locked away. I’m going to, on this day, commute your sentence to life with parole to time served,” she recalled. 

“He opened the door and my daughter came running to me and my son and other family members and two of my attorneys … we were overjoyed, everybody crying.”

Today Henderson works with Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph and uses her skills and talents across departments to help veterans, women, children, and families in need.

“To see those women and those babies, and even the men, come in and be lifted up because of the work that we do is such a blessing and so inspiring for us to be able to be such great instruments for God,” she said.

Henderson recalled how she always saw God’s hand at work in her life and how “God does things in pieces, like a puzzle,” bringing people and events into your life just at the right time “if you follow his lead and let him guide you.”

“I was blessed enough to find my purpose and finding joy inside a dark, horrible, painful place. And so God is everywhere to shine his light … He shines a light for you to follow, and that’s what I did and I was blessed to be able to listen to his voice and to do what I what he created me to do. This was my purpose.”

Carlo Acutis. / Credit: carloacutis.com

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The unexpected death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, postponed the much-anticipated canonization of Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who captivated a generation of young Catholics with his love of the Eucharist and passion for technology.

Now, as the Church prepares for a conclave to elect a new pope, tens of thousands of young pilgrims who traveled to Rome for the canonization remain in the Eternal City, holding vigil for the departed pope.

Acutis’ journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last three popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager’s short life and legacy.

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Now, it will be up to the next pope to canonize the Church’s first millennial saint.

A childhood inspired by John Paul II

Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo’s Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo’s early faith.

In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II’s act of entrustment of the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter’s Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini’s colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.

“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future,” John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.

Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI

When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was “fascinated” by Benedict XVI.

The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI saying: “I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven.”

Beatification under Pope Francis

Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis’ heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization. 

Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo’s life stood as a witness against the temptation of “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure” in the digital world.

“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least,” Pope Francis said the day after Carlo’s beatification in 2020.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo’s canonization on April 27 during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, that Mass will now be offered as one of the Novendiales — the nine days of mourning that follow the death of a pope — as part of a revised schedule for the Jubilee of Teenagers.

A saint for the next pope

Carlo Acutis’ canonization will now be one of the first major acts awaiting the next pope. The timing and location of the canonization Mass will be left to the discretion of Francis’ successor, who will likely recognize the moment as an opportunity to speak to the Church’s future and to its youth as the canonization of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates the Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025 — the second day of mourning for the late Pope Francis. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Editor's Note: On April 27, 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin served as principal celebrant for the second Novendiales Mass following Pope Francis' funeral. The following homily was delivered on Divine Mercy Sunday in St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee of Teenagers, as published by the Holy See Press Office.

Dear brothers and sisters,

The risen Jesus appears to his disciples while they are in the upper room where they have fearfully shut themselves in, with the doors locked (Jn 20:19). Their state of mind is disturbed and their hearts are full of sadness, because the master and shepherd they had followed, leaving everything behind, has been nailed to the cross. They experienced terrible things and feel orphaned, alone, lost, threatened, and helpless.

The opening image that the Gospel offers us on this Sunday can also well represent the state of mind of all of us, of the Church, and of the entire world. The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us. The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: We are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.

Yet, the Gospel tells us that it is precisely in these moments of darkness that the Lord comes to us with the light of the Resurrection to illuminate our hearts. Pope Francis reminded us of this since his election and often repeated it to us, placing at the center of his pontificate that joy of the Gospel which, as he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, “fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew” (EG, 1).

The joy of Easter, which sustains us in this time of trial and sadness, is something that can almost be touched in this square today; you can see it etched above all in your faces, dear children and young people who have come from all over the world to celebrate the jubilee. You come from so many places: from all of the dioceses of Italy, from Europe, from the United States to Latin America, from Africa to Asia, from the United Arab Emirates… with you here, the whole world is truly present!

I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you.

In light of the many challenges you are called to confront — I think, for example, of the technology and artificial intelligence that characterize our age in a particular way — never forget to nourish your lives with the true hope that has the face of Jesus Christ. Nothing will be too great or too challenging with him! With him you will never be alone or abandoned, not even in the worst of times! He comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams. He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love, to whom you have so much to give and from whom so much to receive, to help you to be generous, faithful, and responsible as you move forward in life. He wants to help you to understand what is most valuable in life: the love that encompasses all things and hopes all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:7).

Today, on the second Sunday of Easter, Dominica in Albis, we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. 

It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity. Likewise the eagerness to proclaim and share God’s mercy with all — the proclamation of the good news, evangelization — was the principal theme of his pontificate. He reminded us that “mercy” is the very name of God, and, therefore, no one can put a limit on his merciful love with which he wants to raise us up and make us new people.

It is important to welcome as a precious treasure this principle on which Pope Francis insisted so much. And — allow me to say — our affection for him, which is being manifested in this time, must not remain a mere emotion of the moment; we must welcome his legacy and make it part of our lives, opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another.

Mercy takes us back to the heart of faith. It reminds us that we do not have to interpret our relationship with God and our being Church according to human or worldly categories. The good news of the Gospel is first and foremost the discovery of being loved by a God who has compassionate and tender feelings for each one of us, regardless of our merits. It also reminds us that our life is woven with mercy: We can only get back up after our falls and look to the future if we have someone who loves us without limits and forgives us. Therefore, we are called to the commitment of living our relationships no longer according to the criteria of calculation or blinded by selfishness but by opening ourselves to dialogue with others, welcoming those we meet along the way and forgiving their weaknesses and mistakes. Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred, and violence: This is the great teaching of Pope Francis.

Jesus shows us this merciful face of God in his preaching and in the deeds he performs. Furthermore, as we have heard, when he presents himself in the upper room after the Resurrection, he offers the gift of peace and says: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23). Thus, the risen Lord directs his disciples, his Church, to be instruments of mercy for humanity for those willing to accept God’s love and forgiveness. Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness toward those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy. He reminded us that there can be no peace without the recognition of the other, without attention to those who are weaker and, above all, there can never be peace if we do not learn to forgive one another, showing each another the same mercy that God shows us.

Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection. Indeed, such memories are particularly vivid among the employees and faithful of Vatican City, many of whom are present here, and whom I would like to thank for the service they perform every day. To you, to all of us, to the whole world, Pope Francis extends his embrace from heaven.

We entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he was so devoted that he chose to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. May she protect us, intercede for us, watch over the Church, and support the journey of humanity in peace and fraternity. Amen.