USCCB, American cardinals, bishops mourn Pontiff’s passing

April 22, 2025

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement following the death of Pope Francis.

“Pope Francis will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society,” Archbishop Broglio said. “He renewed for us the mission to bring the Gospel out to the ends of the earth and offer divine mercy to all. He has also taken advantage of the present Jubilee to call us to a profound hope: one that is not an empty or naïve hope, but one grounded in the promise of Almighty God to be with us always.”

“Even with his roots in the Piedmont region of Italy, the first Pope from our American Continent was marked by his experience as a Jesuit and a shepherd in Buenos Aires,” he continued. “He brought that experience and vision with him to his ministry for the universal Church.”

Archbishop Broglio added:

Recently, he expressed anew prayerful hope in his letter of support to the Bishops of this country in our attempts to respond to the face of Christ in the migrant, poor, and unborn. In fact, he has always used the strongest and clearest expressions in the defense of the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death.

I last saw him at the Jubilee Mass for the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel. Despite the challenges of his health, he was with us and even used a slight gesture to salute the group of bishops who concelebrated the Mass before he boarded the vehicle to return to Santa Marta.

The passage from this life of the Bishop of Rome calls us to pray for his eternal rest and to continue on our path to a deeper union with the Lord Jesus. We remember his leadership in inspiring nations, organizations, and individuals to a renewed commitment to care for each other and our common home.

The four American cardinals who govern dioceses also issued statements on the Pontiff’s passing, as did dozens of others of the nation’s bishops.

Cardinal Cupich

“In this moment of profound loss for me personally and for the Church, I take this moment to express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the gift of his papacy and to pray for the repose of his soul,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago. “The finest memorial we can offer is to re-form our hearts as Pope Francis asked—to see our brothers and sisters, to listen to them and to offer our prayers and actions that all may experience the fullness of God’s promise.”

“As we mourn his passing, I ask that God comfort us, but also strengthen us to remain steadfast in carrying on the work of restoring our Church’s place in the world as a source of hope and an advocate for those in need,” he added.

Cardinal Dolan

“I join with people all over the world, not only Catholics, but people of all faiths or none at all, in mourning the passing of our beloved Pope Francis this morning,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. “How appropriate that his last public appearance was on Easter Sunday as we celebrated the joy of the resurrection of Jesus whom Pope Francis loved so deeply and so well, and right after our Jewish brothers and sisters, for whom Pope Francis had such great love, concluded their celebration of Passover.”

Cardinal Dolan continued:

I was honored to participate in the conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013, and to have welcomed him here to New York in 2015. He touched us all with his simplicity, with his heart of a humble servant. Trusting in the tender and infinite mercy of Jesus, we pray that he is, even now, enjoying his eternal reward in heaven.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Cardinal McElroy

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said that “today, the Church and the world have lost a true shepherd of souls, a beacon of unwavering hope, and a voice of penetrating truth.”

“From the very first moments of his service to the universal Church, Pope Francis enshrined the mercy of God at the heart of his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he continued. “In doing so, he illuminated with new depth the pastoral dimension of the Church’s mission, which is rooted first in embracing love rather than in judgment.”

Cardinal McElroy added:

It is this embracing love which led Pope Francis to be a prophetic advocate for the poor and the dispossessed, the unborn and the immigrant, the victims of war and the earth which is our common home. It was this love also that animated his tender personal care for all those whom he encountered personally in their suffering—those who saw their life marked by failure, the sick, those suffering from addictions, the incarcerated, those who had lost their way in life. It was in these intimate moments of pastoral care that we saw with such poignancy the heart of the pastor who had embodied mercy and love to the suffering in Buenos Aires and refused to diminish that commitment even when the strictures of the papacy fell upon him.

Pope Francis’ vision of a synodal Church—the people of God journeying together, nourished by Word and Sacrament, missionary in its outreach, including all and animated by the participation of all, constantly renewing itself in the light of the Gospel—stands as an enduring legacy of Pope Francis in his fidelity to the Second Vatican Council and its call to preach the Gospel in the modern world. It provides a clear foundation for the journey of God’s people in the years which are to come.

Yesterday we celebrated the victory of Christ over death itself, and the foundation for our conviction that we live on this earth on a journey that leads to eternity and the loving embrace of our God. Pope Francis lived that journey preaching the Gospel and ennobling the world in which we live. Amidst our sadness at this death, we thank God for the penetrating grace that he has brought among us.

Cardinal Tobin

“With profound sorrow and heartfelt gratitude, I join the Church in mourning the death of our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, a shepherd who walked closely with God’s people and never tired of reminding us of God’s mercy,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSSR, of Newark. “He was a man of deep faith, profound humility, and unshakable hope—a servant whose tireless call to care for the poor and the marginalized will continue to inspire the Church for generations to come.”

Cardinal Tobin added:

In this Easter season, as we proclaim that Christ is risen and death is not the end, we entrust Pope Francis to the risen Lord whom he followed so faithfully. May Christ, our hope and resurrection, welcome him into the fullness of joy and peace. Let us give thanks for his life, his witness, and his love for the People of God. And may we honor his memory by building a Church that reflects the face of Jesus—merciful, welcoming, and always near to those on the margins.

 

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