The First Presidency offers condolences on the passing of Pope Francis, noting his ‘courageous, compassionate leadership'
Pope Francis, 88, had returned to work after a long hospitalization, but was still dealing with lingering issues related to pneumonia.
'We join the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis,' wrote President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. 'His courageous and compassionate leadership has blessed countless lives. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all who looked to him for inspiration and counsel. As the world pauses to remember his example of forgiveness and service, we feel deep gratitude for the goodness of a life well lived and rejoice in the hope of a glorious resurrection made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.'
In 2019, President Russell M. Nelson met with Pope Francis inside the Vatican — marking the first-ever face-to-face discussion between the heads of the two global churches.
'We had a most cordial, unforgettable experience with His Holiness,' President Nelson said afterward as he stood just outside St. Peter's Square. 'He was most gracious and warm and welcoming. What a sweet, wonderful man he is, and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving, and capable leader.'
President M. Russell Ballard, the late president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, joined President Nelson in the 2019 meeting, along with Elder Massimo De Feo, a General Authority Seventy, and Elder Alessandro Dini Ciacci, an Area Seventy.
After the meeting, President Nelson said that the two faiths have much in common — 'our concern for human suffering, the importance of religious liberty for all of society, and the importance of building bridges of friendship instead of building walls of segregation.'
The pope and President Nelson embraced at the end of their time together.
'They gave each other a hug as we left that said everything,' President Ballard said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Young people looking for answers in a messy world are turning to the Catholic Church
This past April, as we gathered in Rome for the solemn duty of burying our beloved Pope Francis and electing a new Holy Father, my brother cardinals and I met for two weeks of day-long meetings to prepare for the conclave. We would discuss what was happening back home in our dioceses, what challenges we face, what qualities we thought the next Pope should possess. Despite the sadness we all felt at the loss of Pope Francis, there was a common hopeful refrain we cardinals heard over and over again. During one coffee break, one cardinal said, 'Have you noticed all the young people from around the world who are here in Rome?' Advertisement 'I walked through Saint Peter's Square today and spent time talking to a group of teenage pilgrims, here for the Jubilee Year of Hope,' another remarked. 'A group from one of the universities back home is here in Rome, and invited me to say Mass for them,' mentioned a third. Just a few weeks back, I could not help but be impressed by the sight of one million young people with Pope Leo at Tor Vergata field, just outside Rome. They came to be with the new Pope, of course, but also to be pilgrims and join in the Jubilee Year of Hope. Advertisement Since returning to New York, I've noticed a similar trend. My pastors tell me that more people are attending Mass, and they reported a definite uptick in people freely choosing to become Catholic or return to Church. A recent study by Harvard University confirmed the trend among the so-called Generation Z, which saw a 6% increase from 2022 to 2023 in those identifying as Catholic. Walking through Saint Patrick's Cathedral, I am always impressed by the number of young people there, not just as tourists, but on line for confession, in the Lady Chapel for Adoration, or attending one of the seven daily Masses. Advertisement There are likely many reasons behind this welcome development. Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who heroically lived out his faith and died in 2006 at just 15 years of age, has provided a great role model for young people to emulate. He's not some dim figure from centuries past, but a young man who had a cellphone, loved video games, and used his computer to build an exhibit dedicated to Eucharistic miracles around the world. His canonization by Pope Leo on Sunday, Sept. 7, is sure to make his story even better known. So will the story of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, also to be canonized on Sept. 7. A young Italian student, a fervent and joyful believer, a great lover of the outdoors, politically active in social causes, he contracted polio during his care for the sick, and died at the young age of 24. His last request, written with a near-paralyzed hand, was for his friend to take his medicine and give it to another. Advertisement I like to think our outreach to young adults is also having an impact. Regular Masses at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, followed by socializing at a nearby bar or restaurant, combined with opportunities for community service and faith formation, meet the needs that I think we all desire: faith, friendship, and the opportunity to help others. Our Catholic schools — elementary, secondary, and colleges and universities — play a role as well. We've placed a renewed emphasis on ensuring that our grammar and high schools, while academically excellent, are also rooted in teaching and passing on the faith in everything they do. It's not just our Catholic colleges, like Fordham, Iona, Manhattan, and Saint John's, where faith plays a role. We have robust campus ministries programs too, at schools like NYU and Columbia, for instance, to meet the spiritual needs of undergrads and graduate students, many away from home for the first time. Then, too, the world seems a big mess! War, injustice, famine, violence, bigotry, mass shootings, political vitriol — those inclined to look to the world for meaning now know better. Finally, and most importantly, though, there is, in the human heart, an innate desire for meaning. For too long, we taught our young people that there was no objective truth, that right and wrong were outdated concepts, and 'if it feels good, do it.' As the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen so eloquently put it, 'People aren't looking for a question mark, but an exclamation point!' Advertisement We look for clarity, not ambiguity. The Catholic faith, centered on Jesus and His Church, its belief in eternal, unwavering truth, and a moral code that differentiates between good and evil, grace and sin, provides that direction. The old Baltimore catechism began with a simple question: Why did God make me? Its answer: God made me to know Him, love him, and serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. Advertisement We still believe that, and offer that 'sure and certain hope' to all the world. Many are once again taking us up on that offer. Cardinal Dolan is the archbishop of New York.
11 hours ago
Pope Leo's first international trip could be to Lebanon, cardinal says
ROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is planning to visit Lebanon this year on his first foreign visit, the country's Catholic cardinal said, a trip that would give history's first American pope a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there. A visit to Lebanon could be the second leg of a planned visit to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate an important anniversary with the Orthodox Church. Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, the patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite faithful, told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that Leo 'will visit Lebanon.' 'It's unclear to be honest when he will visit, but he will visit anytime from now until December,' the cardinal said when asked about a possible visit. 'There needs to be an agreement from the Vatican on when the visit will happen. But there are preparations for the visit, but it's unclear until the Vatican's announcement.' Leo, like his predecessor Pope Francis, has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, especially as Israel's offensive rages on in Gaza. The last pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012 on what was the last foreign trip of his papacy. A Vatican spokesperson on Thursday declined to confirm or deny a trip by Leo. But word of papal trips usually originates with the local church that will host the pope. Pope Francis, who died on April 21, had long hoped to visit Lebanon, but the country's political and economic instability prevented a visit during his lifetime. The Mediterranean nation of around 6 million, including more than 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. However, the Vatican fears the country's instability has been particularly dangerous for the continued presence of its Christian community, a bulwark for the church in the Mideast. Lebanon is currently struggling to recover after years of economic crisis and a bruising war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that ended with a U.S. and France-brokered ceasefire in November. Formation of a new, reformist government in November ended a two-year political vacuum and brought hopes of recovery but the situation remains tense. Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points on the Lebanese side of the border and carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Hezbollah is under increasing domestic and international pressure to give up its remaining arsenal but has refused to do so until Israel withdraws and halts its strikes. There are fears of civil conflict if Lebanese authorities attempt to forcibly disarm the group. About one-third of Lebanon's population is believed to be Christian, though there is no official number since there hasn't been an official census since 1932. The Maronites are the largest and most powerful sect and, by convention, Lebanon's president is always a Maronite Christian. Leo is already expected to travel to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity's first ecumenical council. It was a trip Francis had intended to make in May. The Vatican has not confirmed the Turkey trip, but Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians and the host of the anniversary commemoration, has said Leo told him he wants to go. Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Lebanon. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
12 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pope Leo's first international trip could be to Lebanon, cardinal says
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is planning to visit Lebanon this year on his first foreign visit, the country's Catholic cardinal said, a trip that would give history's first American pope a chance to speak in broad terms about peace in the Middle East and the plight of Christians there. A visit to Lebanon could be the second leg of a planned visit to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate an important anniversary with the Orthodox Church. Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, the patriarch of the Lebanese Maronite faithful, told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that Leo 'will visit Lebanon.' 'It's unclear to be honest when he will visit, but he will visit anytime from now until December,' the cardinal said when asked about a possible visit. 'There needs to be an agreement from the Vatican on when the visit will happen. But there are preparations for the visit, but it's unclear until the Vatican's announcement.' Leo, like his predecessor Pope Francis, has consistently called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, especially as Israel's offensive rages on in Gaza. The last pope to visit Lebanon was Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012 on what was the last foreign trip of his papacy. A Vatican spokesperson on Thursday declined to confirm or deny a trip by Leo. But word of papal trips usually originates with the local church that will host the pope. Pope Francis, who died on April 21, had long hoped to visit Lebanon, but the country's political and economic instability prevented a visit during his lifetime. The Mediterranean nation of around 6 million, including more than 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. However, the Vatican fears the country's instability has been particularly dangerous for the continued presence of its Christian community, a bulwark for the church in the Mideast. Lebanon is currently struggling to recover after years of economic crisis and a bruising war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that ended with a U.S. and France-brokered ceasefire in November. Formation of a new, reformist government in November ended a two-year political vacuum and brought hopes of recovery but the situation remains tense. Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points on the Lebanese side of the border and carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Hezbollah is under increasing domestic and international pressure to give up its remaining arsenal but has refused to do so until Israel withdraws and halts its strikes. There are fears of civil conflict if Lebanese authorities attempt to forcibly disarm the group. About one-third of Lebanon's population is believed to be Christian, though there is no official number since there hasn't been an official census since 1932. The Maronites are the largest and most powerful sect and, by convention, Lebanon's president is always a Maronite Christian. Leo is already expected to travel to Turkey at the end of November to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity's first ecumenical council. It was a trip Francis had intended to make in May. The Vatican has not confirmed the Turkey trip, but Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians and the host of the anniversary commemoration, has said Leo told him he wants to go. ___
