Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88, “will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement shared in the first hours after the pope’s death.

With the death of Pope Francis, the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was scheduled for April 27, has been postponed.

U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the “camerlengo” or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced to the world that Pope Francis had died April 21 at the age of 88.

Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88 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 mission, poverty, immigration and dialogue.

The Glamuzinas are among the multitude of Americans planning to attend the canonization of the church’s first “millennial” saint. The canonization Mass, scheduled to be held in St. Peter’s Square, coincides with Divine Mercy Sunday and the 2025 Holy Year’s Jubilee of Teenagers April 25-27.

The hope Christians have is not a sign of avoiding reality but of trusting in the power of God to defeat sin and death as the resurrection of Jesus clearly shows, Pope Francis wrote in his Easter message.

As the lights of St. Peter’s Basilica were extinguished and silence settled through the sprawling interior, a single flame — the paschal candle — pierced through the gloom, representing the light of the risen Christ which “quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness,” Pope Francis said.

Against the backdrop of deep differences with the Trump administration over migration and foreign aid as well as concerns for Ukraine and for Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state welcomed U.S. Vice President JD Vance to the Vatican.

With Easter celebrations hours away, the U.S. bishops’ humanitarian agency is urging the faithful to “stand in solidarity with our global family” by turning in their Lenten Rice Bowl contributions.

Today’s “builders of Babel” are constructing a hell on earth, rejecting everyone they decide are “losers,” Pope Francis wrote in the meditations for the Way of the Cross.