Pope Leo XIV has paid warm tribute to Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, recalling his predecessor’s closeness to the poor, his insistence on mercy, and his effort to place fraternity at the heart of the Church’s witness in the modern world. He spoke to journalists aboard the papal flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, the final stage of his African journey.
Marking the anniversary, Leo said Francis had given much to the Church not only through his teaching but through the example of his life. He singled out in particular the late Pope’s concern for “the poorest, the smallest, the sick, children, and the elderly”, presenting that habitual closeness as one of the defining marks of his pontificate.
