One month after the death of Pope Francis, the Catholic world continues to mourn and reflect on the legacy of a pontiff who shaped an era of pastoral outreach, Gospel-centered leadership, and courageous witness. At his first Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV paused to offer a heartfelt tribute to his predecessor, marking a solemn moment of remembrance while also carrying forward the late Pope’s vision of mercy and missionary discipleship.
“We cannot conclude this encounter without remembering, with deep gratitude, our beloved Pope Francis, who returned to the Father’s house exactly one month ago,” Pope Leo XIV said at the close of the audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 21, 2025 (according to Vatican News reporting by Deborah Castellano Lubov).
This public remembrance is not only a gesture of affection, but a statement of continuity. Pope Leo XIV, elected following the death of Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, has made clear that he intends to continue the pastoral focus initiated by the late pontiff. His first General Audience continued Pope Francis’ Jubilee reflections under the theme, “Jesus Christ, Our Hope,” reinforcing the mission of proclaiming the Gospel with courage and compassion.
Reflecting on the parable of the sower, Pope Leo said the story “serves as a kind of introduction to all the others,” and invited the faithful to examine their own hearts: “Where am I in this story? What does this image say to my life?” (Vatican News, Kielce Gussie). He emphasized that God “does not wait for us to become the best soil,” but freely scatters His Word, knowing it will bear fruit in time.
That trust in the transforming power of the Gospel echoed Pope Francis’ own pastoral approach. As Cardinal Konrad Krajewski recalled in a memorial Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, “He employed the logic of the Gospel when he needed to resolve his problems and those of the Church.” The late Pope would prepare his daily homilies by sitting with the next day’s Gospel, underlining the words that touched his heart. “If you don’t know what to do,” he often said, “search the Gospels to see what Jesus would have done in your place, and then you’ll know” (Vatican News, Lubov).
On the same day as the General Audience, a special Mass in memory of Pope Francis was also celebrated at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the same Marian shrine he chose as his final resting place. The Basilica holds deep personal significance for both pontiffs. Pope Leo, just days after his election, made a private pilgrimage to pray at Pope Francis’ tomb, a symbolic act of reverence and spiritual unity.
In his address to pilgrims, Pope Leo XIV also turned to the Church’s future, exhorting priests to “build their lives on Jesus and on the solid rock of His Word,” and religious sisters to continue their apostolic work, assuring them, “Dear sisters, I accompany you with my prayers so that the Lord may make your apostolic commitment fruitful.” To the youth, the sick, and newlyweds, he offered this encouragement: to “always serve God with joy and to love their neighbor with a Gospel spirit.”
What Pope Leo XIV is doing—remembering Pope Francis, continuing his pastoral direction, and planting seeds of hope—is more than symbolic. It shows the Church’s living tradition in motion, not stuck in the past, but deeply rooted in it.
The sunset does not end the work of the sower. As Pope Leo XIV remarked when reflecting on van Gogh’s The Sower at Sunset, “behind the sower, van Gogh painted the grain already ripe.” The harvest has begun—and the Church now steps forward with renewed hope.
