Editor in chief Sam Sawyer, S.J., reflects on praying with Pope Francis’ body in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Just about two weeks before he died, Francis announced that Archbishop-elect McKnight will be the next archbishop of Kansas City, Mo., and that Bishop Lewandowski will become the next bishop of Providence, R.I.

Pope Francis’ face was forever hidden from the world when his coffin was closed at 8 o’clock on Friday evening, April 25, just as the sun was setting over Rome. 

We've collected some of our favorite analyses and remembrances of Francis’ papacy as a resource for Catholics mourning the church’s loss. 

Pope Francis trusted the imagination and regarded it as a gift from God. Instead of being suspicious and fearful of its power, he urged artists to follow its promptings.

I discovered that Catholicism could speak meaningfully to contemporary issues, that it could challenge power rather than embody it. I began to pay attention again.

The language of our faith was Spanish. So you can imagine the fervor that erupted in our home when Papa Francisco was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013. I was only 10 years old at the time, but I already understood why this meant so much to us. 

I never met Pope Francis, but I was one of millions who admired his work.

In this special deep-dive episode of Inside the Vatican, host Colleen Dulle guides listeners through the rituals, rules, and hidden dynamics that unfold when a pope dies.

So many mourners lined up to see Pope Francis lying in state in a simple wooden coffin inside St. Peter’s Basilica that the Vatican kept the doors open all night.