One year ago, Pope Francis passed away. He was 88 years old.

He rests in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which today commemorates him with a Mass, together with the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the Salus Populi Romani, before which he paused to pray on countless occasions.

His pontificate left a profound mark, shaped by concrete closeness and by words that have become a lasting legacy for the Church: “Do not let yourselves be robbed of hope.”
A call that continues to resonate as a tireless invitation to be a Church on the move, capable of listening and remaining open to the wounds and hopes of the world.

Among his most enduring legacies is his commitment to the care of creation, most clearly expressed in the encyclical Laudato si’. Pope Francis called the world to a shared responsibility for our “common home.”

Alongside this, he consistently devoted attention to the poorest and most vulnerable, especially migrants and refugees: from symbolic visits to border regions to his firm words against the “globalization of indifference,” he urged people to recognize the face of Christ in those most in need and to build communities rooted in welcome and integration.

One year after his death, his magisterium continues to point the way forward: to safeguard creation, care for the most fragile, and live mercy, building each day a Church that accompanies and embraces.

Thank you, Pope Francis.