VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One year ago today, Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m., April 21, 2025.

It came the day after Easter, when -- barely able to raise his hands -- he gave his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). Looking drawn and worn, the 88-year-old pope from Argentina took his final ride in the popemobile, spending about 15 minutes among the crowd.

But then, the next morning, which was a major holiday in Italy, church bells in Rome tolled the death knell after U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis had died just a few hours ago. 

"His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church," Cardinal Farrell said in a video announcement broadcast from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived.

The Wikimedia Foundation said that its "Deaths in 2025" entry, which included Pope Francis, was their second most-read entry during the year. And plenty of people took the occasion to learn more about his life too, adding that "His English Wikipedia article was the 11th most-read (page) of the year."

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope Francis was an untiring voice for peace, urging an end to armed conflict, supporting dialogue and encouraging reconciliation.

He gave new energy to millions of Catholics -- and caused concern for some -- as he transformed the image of the papacy into a pastoral ministry based on personal encounters and strong convictions about poverty, mission and dialogue.

His simple lifestyle, which included his decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace and his choice of riding around Rome in a small Fiat or Ford instead of a Mercedes sedan, sent a message of austerity to Vatican officials and clergy throughout the church. 

Although he repeatedly said he did not like to travel, he made 47 foreign trips, taking his message of Gospel joy to North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

He was elected after Pope Benedict XVI retired in 2013. Then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was already a known and respected figure within the College of Cardinals, so much so that no one disputed a respected Italian journal's report that he had received the second-highest number of votes on all four ballots cast in the 2005 conclave that had elected Pope Benedict.

Elected on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Bergoglio chose the name Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi.

"Go out" was Pope Francis' constant plea to every Catholic, from curial cardinals to the people in the pews. More than once, he told people that while the Bible presents Jesus as knocking at the door of people's hearts to get in, today Jesus is knocking at the doors of parish churches trying to get out and among the people.
 

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Here are some of our favorite images:

St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury and Confessor APRIL 21,A.D. 1109 IF the Norman conquerors stripped the English nation of its liberty, and many temporal advantages, it must be owned that by their valor they raised the reputation of its arms, and deprived their own country of its greatest men, both in church and state, with whom they adorned this kingdom: of which this great doctor, and his master, Lanfranc, are instances. St. Anselm was born of noble parents, at Aoust, in Piedmont, about the ...

On the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV answers questions from three Angolan journalists, assuring them he spoke to the president about a joint effort between the Church and the Angolan government in the fields of healthcare and education.

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Aboard the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV recalls his predecessor Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, saying the late Pope “gave so much through his life and his closeness to the poor.”

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Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s arrival to the Psychiatric Hospital in Malabo, staff members tell Vatican News that the visit will send a “very strong” message on the importance of mental health care.

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For a country with over 500 years of evangelization, Angola still has areas where the Word of God reaches with great difficulty. One reason for this is the large size of some dioceses, which are sometimes divided to create new ones. The newest is the Diocese of Ganda, led by Bishop Estevao Binga. During the flight from Saurimo to Luanda, after the Pope’s visit, Bishop Estevao explained to Vatican News some of the peculiarities of his new Diocese and shared his views on the Pope’s visit to Angola

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Pope Leo XIV arrives in Equatorial Guinea, marking the fourth and final leg of his Apostolic Journey to four African nations.

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One year after Pope Francis' death, Archbishop Luigi Travaglino presides at Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, the former residence of the late Pope.

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Pope Leo XIV boards the papal plane at the end of his Apostolic Journey to Angola and flies to Equatorial Guinea, which is the final leg of his 11-day visit to four African nations.

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As the Church recalls Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, Vatican News releases a new documentary that looks back over the life and legacy of the Argentine Pope.

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