Pope Leo Sends Anniversary Message as Cardinals Gather at Francis' Tomb

Marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, Pope Leo XIV sent a personal message commemorating the late pope to the cardinals, as he continued his four-nation voyage through Africa.

It was early on Easter Monday morning 2025 that Pope Francis died in his suite at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, whither he had been brought from hospital only a few weeks prior.

Though anticipated somewhat generally, his death on that specific morning was unexpected given that less than 24 hours before he had been driven around St. Peter’s Square greeting the Easter crowds.

One year on, and the College of Cardinals gathered in the Basilica of St Mary Major by his tomb for a commemorative Mass.

Francis’ decision to be buried in the Marian Basilica raised eyebrows in that it broke with the more recent, prevalent custom of popes being buried at St. Peter’s. But it was also a natural link to the basilica which he had visited over 120 times, normally before and after foreign travels. The Basilica’s archpriest, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, attested this week that it was actually at his instigation that Francis became enamored of the idea to be buried there, rather than at the Vatican.

On Tuesday evening, a special plaque was unveiled in the Pauline Chapel of Mary Major, which is home to the ancient and miraculous image of Mary Salus Populi Romani. Inscribed in Latin, the stone recalls the number of times that Francis visited the beloved image during his pontificate, and reads:

“Francis Supreme Pontiff, who paused 126 times in devout prayer at the feet of the Salus Populi Romani; according to his will, rests in this Papal Basilica.”

Just as at Francis’ funeral, it was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, who presided over the Mass on Tuesday. Leo at the time was visiting a hospital in Equatorial Guinea, the last country on his African voyage before returning to Rome on Thursday.

Though absent, Leo sent a message marking his predecessor’s anniversary which was read during the concelebrated Mass. Francis’ memory “lives on in the Church and throughout the world,” said Leo.

Commenting somewhat sparingly on Francis’ pontificate, Leo noted how the Argentine pope held the throne during “an epochal change, a change of which he was fully aware, offering all of us a courageous witness that represents a significant legacy for the Church.”

Francis’ papal ministry was that “of a disciple-missionary,” given to “proclaiming the Gospel of mercy ‘to everyone, to everyone, to everyone.’”

The late pope, said Leo, “took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and urged the Church to be open to mission, a guardian of the world’s hope, passionate about proclaiming that Gospel which is capable of giving every life fullness and happiness.”

Francis’ most notable refrains continue to live on, added Leo, including his focus on “mercy, peace, brotherhood, the smell of the sheep, the field hospital, and many others.”

The Pope’s message marking the first anniversary of his predecessor was somewhat and succinct. Indeed, though he summarized certain themes of Francis’ life, Leo did not highlight any particular document, foreign tour, or action of Francis. In many ways, the anniversary message read as a polite act of reverent duty, but devoid of any great devotion to Francis per se.

This element was further fostered by the very fact that Leo was absent for the event, and his lengthy African voyage had been arranged such that he was sitting on the Equator at the time of Francis’ anniversary.

Since Leo’s election, many loud voices have been arguing that he is Francis 2.0; others instead that he is a kind of traditionalist champion. Some have argued that Leo was elected as part of a plot to have an American on the throne who could win the hearts of MAGA and thus MAGA’s money; others still have argued that he is a Democrat Party cheerleader who will head the charge against Donald Trump.

For those based in Rome, with the ability to talk to Vatican officials and seasoned experts, none of the characterizations above is accurate. Leo is neither Francis 2.0 nor is he a trad-champion.

Indeed his written message and physical absence from Rome this week during Francis’ anniversary serve as a symbol of the relationship between the two men. Leo is aware of the dignity of the papal office, and is keen to preserve it both for himself and his predecessor. His message read as diplomatic and respectful in tone, but not especially warm or laudatory.

While Francis is being remembered in Rome, in an event squeezed in amongst a plethora of annual American Rome-based fundraisers taking place in these days, Leo is forging his own pontificate in Africa.

One could reasonably argue that it is during the recent days of his Africa visit that Leo has come alive. Africa of course has a way of doing that to any pontiff. The bubbling enthusiasm of the crowds so eagerly welcoming the pope cannot fail to spill over onto the honored guest, as has happened time and time again during previous papal trips.

It is in Africa that Leo has again distanced himself ideologically from Francis also. Francis was known for harshly rebuking priests, downplaying the need for missionary evangelization, over-stepping the prudential limits of ecumenical relations into syncretism.

Leo has warmly praised the local clergy and urged them to renew their work based on an in-depth analysis on the beauty of the priesthood. He has encouraged the work of missionaries in spreading the faith.

As Leo has often done with “synodality” he also took one of Francis’ themes and added a more conservative twist to it.

Francis famously told a transgender individual that “God loves us as we are.” Speaking at a hospital in Equatorial Guinea, Leo took that phrase but made it his own: “God loves us just as we are. In fact, only God loves us completely just as we are. But not so that we remain as we are! No, God does not want us to always be sick or suffering; He wants to heal us!”

This was a classic Leo move: to take something of his predecessor’s and use it, but add the necessary element to make it more correct, and in line with Catholic teaching.

As Pope Francis’ one-year anniversary thus passes, Leo is steadily forging his own path as his own man.