On April 21, Pope Francis passed away and returned to the Lord. Representatives of the John Paul II Foundation participated in the funeral rites held at the Domus Sanctae Marthae and St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as in the funeral Mass celebrated on April 26 in St. Peter’s Square.
During the live broadcast of the funeral ceremonies on TVP1, Fr. Tomasz Podlewski from our Foundation served as one of the commentators in the studio. A recording of the broadcast is available.
The John Paul II Foundation gives thanks to God for the gift of the pontificate of the late Pope Francis, particularly for the three occasions on which he met with us: in April 2015 (on the first anniversary of the canonization of John Paul II), in October 2016 (for the 35th anniversary of the Foundation), and in September 2022 (for the 40th anniversary of the Foundation, which was postponed by a year due to the pandemic).
Below, we quote an excerpt from Pope Francis’s personal address to our Foundation in 2015:
“In a special way, I thank you for your support in the education of young people (...). You enable priests and laypersons to enrich their formation so they may be prepared to assist groups in facing the cultural and spiritual challenges of today’s world (...). It is very important that, above all, you live in solidarity within your groups of Friends of the Foundation (...). I bless you in your work and ask you to pray for me.”
(Vatican, April 25, 2015)
