After bestowing God’s Easter Blessing on Sunday, Pope Francis passed on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, in Rome, at the age of 88.
On Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 10am (Rome time), the first day of the Novendiali, on the parvis of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Funeral Mass of the Roman Pontiff Francis will be held, presided over by Giovanni Cardinal Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinal.
Burial will take place in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
A Memorial Mass for the deceased Pope Francis will be celebrated by Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Saint John, 7pm Tuesday April 29.
A Memorial Mass will be offered at Saint Michael’s Basilica 7pm Wednesday April 30.
Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC, has offered a letter on the passing of Pope Francis: “we join with the universal Church in commending the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite mercy of God.
His pontificate has been one marked by mercy and evangelization. His apostolic exhortation touched me so deeply that I adopted its title, Evangelii Gaudium – the Joy of the Gospel – as my episcopal motto.
For Pope Francis, a renewed encounter with Jesus was primary. His legacy will be one of
seeking out the lost, sending us to the peripheries and finding Jesus in the poor, the marginalized
and the forgotten. My most memorable encounter with the Holy Father was during my Ad
Limina visit to Rome in 2017, where he asked the bishops to prioritize two things – prayer and
sharing the Gospel. As we reflect on his life and ministry to the Church as a successor of Peter,
what better way to honor his legacy than to embrace our baptismal call as missionary disciples
sharing the hope that does not disappoint (c.f. Romans 5:5).
May the words of his final Urbi et Orbi message bring us comfort: ‘In the Lord’s Paschal Mystery, death and life contended in a stupendous struggle, but the Lord now lives forever. He fills us with the certainty that we too are called to share in the life that knows no end, when the clash of arms and the rumble of death will be heard no more. Let us entrust ourselves to Him, for He alone can make all things new (cf. Rev. 21:5)!'”
Read Bishop Christian Riesbeck, CC’s full message on the passing of Pope Francis here.
Statement by the Canadian Catholic Bishops: “When the Cardinals elected him to the See of Peter in March 2013, Pope Francis invited us on that first night to “always pray for one another, for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity.” Over the past 88 years of his Petrine Ministry, his pastoral witness and leadership of the Catholic Church as the 266th Successor of Saint Peter marked the Church, the world and our Canadian society with the values of the Gospel. Francis’ frequent consoling image of the Church as “a field hospital” brought us a message of hope, peace, compassion and mercy. He desired the Church to be close to the people, to be present in ways that reflected the mercy, forgiveness and care of Christ. He challenged us to become missionary disciples of faith, hope and love and announce the joy of the Gospel to the world…”
“‘Trust in God’s infinite mercy’ was the guiding vision throughout Francis’ papacy, as captured succinctly in his final Encyclical Letter “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ” (Dilexit Nos). Pope Francis yearned for the Church’s message of mercy to be ever present among marginalized people, those on the existential and geographical peripheries of society. He was a tireless advocate for the poor, migrants, the disabled, the elderly, and those struggling to find their place within the Church.”
“Pope Francis opened two Jubilee Years during his pontificate: an extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy in 2015 and the Holy Year of Hope which began on Christmas eve, 2024. As Bishop of Rome, Francis demanded much while preaching about a God of mercy, by engaging joyfully with nonbelievers, atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and those on the peripheries of life – many who thought that Christianity has nothing left to offer in the circumstances of life. His was truly ‘a journey of fraternity, of love, of trust among us.’ We thank God for the legacy Pope Francis has given us – one that encourages us to live our faith with greater conviction and that guides us as Christians to build relationships of trust and greater compassion with others.
In this time of grief, I invite the Catholic faithful to join their local Ordinary and their pastoral ministers in praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. Let us give thanks to God for giving us such a good shepherd, an eloquent teacher of the joy of the Gospel, a humble witness, and a fellow pilgrim of hope. May the love and hope that Pope Francis found in the Risen Lord continue to radiate through our lives, and may he receive the reward promised to good and faithful servants who were heralds of the Good News of the Kingdom of God.”
Read the full letter from the Canadian Catholic Bishops on the passing of Pope Francis, here, and see Resources for commemorating Pope Francis’ service here.