When Pope Francis chose the small Italian island of Lampedusa as the destination for his first trip outside Rome after his election, he signaled to the world that migration would be a defining issue of his pontificate.

Upon Pope Francis’ passing, San Lorenzo issued a poignant statement reflecting on his lifelong bond with the club: “His passion for San Lorenzo always moved us deeply, and unites us in constant prayer for his soul.”

As the pope of the peripheries, Pope Francis brought the heart, mind and soul of the Catholic Church in Latin America from what he called the “ends of the earth” to the center of Christendom.

The impact of Pope Francis’ papacy upon Catholic marriage and family life will be extensively studied, debated and commentated upon in the weeks following his death on April 21.

Pope Francis’ approach to key issues including his concern for the environment, immigration and abortion did not fit neatly into American political ideologies, Catholic political and theology experts told OSV News.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88, faced the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, attempting to balance defending the church from criticism while showing compassion toward survivors, with often mixed results.

This basilica, rebuilt and magnificently adorned over the centuries, has been a rallying point for popes and laypeople, for Romans and pilgrims alike, to venerate the maternity and life of the Blessed Mother.

The Keatings were among many Catholics in the U.S. who shared tributes in the hours after Pope Francis’ death from a stroke and heart failure, after struggling to overcome a respiratory illness that led to a five-week hospitalization in February and March.

Cardinals around the world are remembering Pope Francis not just as a pope, but as a pastor deeply connected to real life. Some also expressed their hopes for the next pope.

Having turned 112 on Easter at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Dominic in Amityville, N.Y. — a supercentenarian for two years, and a member of her order since 1931 — she is, like all members of the body of Christ, still able to participate in the ministry of presence.