From left to right: Cardinal Francis Leo, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Cardinal Mykola Bychok, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, and Cardinal Américo Manuel Aguiar Alves. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 28, 2025 / 11:09 am (CNA).

At the upcoming papal conclave, set to begin May 7, the College of Cardinals will include several notably young members who have traveled to Rome from across the world, from Mongolia to Australia. 

Among the 135 cardinals who are eligible to vote in a conclave, 15 of them are under the age of 60. 

Historically, the age of cardinals participating in papal conclaves has varied. One of the youngest was Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdo di Conza, who attended the 1565–1566 conclave at the age of 25.

In more recent times, during the 2013 conclave, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, was the youngest cardinal elector at 53. In the upcoming conclave, there are six cardinals the same age or younger. 

The five youngest cardinals lead sees in Australia, Mongolia, Portugal, and Canada as well as a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Two of them are Eastern-rite Catholics. Three were made cardinals in the last consistory before the conclave. 

Here are the five youngest cardinals who will help select the next pope:  

Cardinal Mykola Bychok, 45 

Born on Feb. 13, 1980, in Ternopil, Ukraine, Bychok felt the call to the priesthood at the age of 15. He joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) in 1997, inspired by their missionary zeal. His service has been extensive, including roles as a missionary in Russia, parish priest, and provincial bursar in Ukraine as well as vicar of the Ukrainian Catholic Parish of St. John the Baptist in Newark, New Jersey.

In January 2020, Pope Francis appointed him as the eparchial bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne, Australia. His episcopal consecration took place on June 7, 2020. Bychok has worked to foster community among the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia and to increase youth engagement within the Church.

On Dec. 7, 2024, Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals, making him the current world’s youngest cardinal.

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, 50 

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, born on June 7, 1974, in Cuneo, Italy, has been a Consolata missionary in Mongolia since 2003. He was ordained a priest in 2001 and appointed apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar in 2020.

Pope Francis created him a cardinal on Aug. 27, 2022, making him the youngest member of the College of Cardinals at the time at age 48. He welcomed Pope Francis to Mongolia in 2023 as the first pope to ever visit the country. Marengo is fluent in Mongolian, Italian, and English. 

Cardinal Américo Manuel Aguiar Alves, 51 

Cardinal Américo Manuel Aguiar Alves, born on Dec. 12, 1973, is the bishop of Setúbal, Portugal. Before entering the priesthood, Aguiar had a brief political career, serving as a town councilor under the Socialist Party. He was ordained a priest at the age of 27 in 2001 and went on to serve in roles such as vicar general and communication director for the Diocese of Porto. He became the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon in 2019 and gained recognition for his leadership in organizing the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, which drew over 1.5 million attendees.

Pope Francis made him a cardinal in late 2023. 

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, 51 

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, born on Aug. 11, 1973, in Kerala, India, is a Vatican diplomat and Syro-Malabar archbishop. His diplomatic career included assignments in various countries, including Algeria, South Korea, Iran, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. In July 2020, Koovakad returned to Rome to work as an official in the Secretariat of State. He was responsible for organizing Pope Francis’ international travels from 2021 to 2024.

The pope elevated Koovakad to cardinal on Dec. 7, 2024, and appointed him as prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in January. 

Cardinal Francis Leo, 53 

Cardinal Francis “Frank” Leo, born on June 30, 1971, in Montreal to Italian immigrant parents, is the current archbishop of Toronto. He was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Montreal in 1996. Leo holds a doctorate in systematic theology with a specialization in Mariology from the University of Dayton. He served as the general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2015 to 2021 and was appointed archbishop of Toronto in 2023, an archdiocese with a population of about 2 million Catholics.

Pope Francis made Leo a cardinal in December 2024. 

Statue of St. Peter on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 07:13 am (CNA).

The College of Cardinals announced Monday that the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

The pivotal proclamation came following a morning general congregation meeting at the Vatican, where cardinals have been gathering daily since Pope Francis’ burial at St. Mary Major Basilica on April 26.

The date falls within the traditional 15- to 20-day window following a pope’s death, allowing sufficient time for the “Novendiales” mourning period and for cardinal electors to arrive from across the globe.

Of the 134 cardinals who will take part — those under 80 years of age — nearly all have already arrived in Rome. The remaining few are expected within days, according to Vatican sources.

The voting will take place beneath Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

Following tradition, the cardinals will celebrate a “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of May 7 before processing into the Sistine Chapel while chanting the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” invoking the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Once inside, each cardinal will take an oath to observe the procedures, maintain secrecy, and vote freely for the candidate he believes most worthy. The chapel doors will then be closed to the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, is the current dean of the College of Cardinals, i.e., the most senior member, elected from among the ranks of the cardinal bishops and confirmed by the pope. Normally, it would be Re’s job to move the conclave process forward once it gets underway. 

Re is too old to take part in the conclave, however, as is his vice dean, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri. So the upcoming conclave will be directed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the next eligible most senior cardinal bishop and the Vatican’s secretary of state.

A two-thirds majority — 90 votes — is required to elect the new pope.

The world will watch for the traditional signals from the Sistine Chapel chimney: black smoke indicating an inconclusive ballot, white smoke announcing that a new pope has been elected.

Pope Francis was responsible for appointing 108 of the cardinal electors who will now choose his successor, dramatically reshaping the geographic makeup of the College of Cardinals during his pontificate. The college now includes representatives from countries with small Catholic populations and from regions previously underrepresented in papal elections.

The statue of St. Peter at the square named for him in the Vatican. / Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA

CNA Staff, Apr 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The recent death of Pope Francis on April 21 has reignited interest in the centuries-old “Prophecy of the Popes,” also known as the St. Malachy prophecy, which some say indicates that Pope Francis was the last pope the Church will ever have.

The over-900-year-old prophecy, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, purports to describe every single pope from the year 1143 until the end of time — and Pope Francis appears, at least at a glance, to be the last pope described in the prophecy, suggesting the world will end now that his papacy has concluded.

A closer look shows that there is some significant evidence against the authenticity of this alleged prophecy. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the ‘Prophecy of the Popes’?

The document in question was allegedly a private revelation given to the medieval figure St. Malachy, who served as archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, in the 1100s. Reportedly, he made a visit to Rome in which he had a vision of the future popes and wrote them down.

The prophecy consists of a list of 112 short phrases; enigmatic “mottoes” in Latin that are supposed to represent the popes from St. Malachy’s time onward. 

The mottoes generally contain references to one of several things, including the pope’s name (his papal name, his birth name, or his family name), his place of origin, or a heraldic crest connected with him (his papal arms, his family crest, or the crest of his order or place of origin). They often involve wordplay regarding these things, though that is more obvious in Latin than in English.

The mottoes are believed by some to predict the succession of Catholic popes, concluding with a final pope referred to as “Peter the Roman.”

The next-to-last motto in the prophecy of the popes has been associated with Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned the papacy in 2013 and died at the end of 2022. The election of Pope Francis as his successor brings us to the last name in the prophecy of the popes, which many have taken to indicate the final pope at the end of the world.

This passage reads as follows:

“Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.”

Is it genuine?

This prophecy is not a Vatican-approved private revelation, though it has been influential in some Catholic circles for several hundred years. There is evidence to doubt its authenticity, however.

First, the prophecy was not published until 1595, though St. Malachy died in 1148. There is no record of the prophecy existing in the intervening 447 years. Allegedly, this was because the prophecy lay forgotten in a Roman archive, and it was not rediscovered until 1590.

While the fact that there is no mention of the document in the hundreds of years between the times of its reported composition and its rediscovery does not prove that it is false, it does cast significant doubt on its authenticity.

It has been proposed that the document, rather than being an authentic revelation, is a forgery composed around 1590 and then planted in the archive for political purposes — a claim that would explain the document’s lengthy absence.

Do its contents hold true?

The logical approach is to examine the prophecy’s contents to see which theory of its origins they are more consistent with: Do the contents seem to suggest that it was written in the 1100s, or do they suggest that it was written around 1590?

Many observers have thought the latter. One reason is that the “mottoes” for the period prior to 1590 are very easy to connect with the popes they allegedly represent. By contrast, the mottoes assigned to the popes coming after 1590 are much harder to connect with the popes they allegedly represent and often can be connected only in a contrived way.

Some examples of mottoes that are easy to connect to pre-1590 popes include:

• “Ex castro Tiberis” (“From a castle on the Tiber”). This is connected with Celestine II (1143–1144), who was born in Citta di Castello (“City of the Castle”), which is on the banks of the Tiber river.

• “Frigidus abbas” (“Cold Abbot”). This is connected with Benedict XII (1334–1342), who had been the abbot of a monastery at Fontfroide (“Cold Spring”).

• “De parvo homine” (“From a small man”). This is connected to Pius III (1503), whose family name was Piccolomini, which is derived from piccolo (small) and uomo (man).  

By contrast, some examples of post-1590 popes include:

• “Pia civitas in bello” (“Pious city in war”). This is connected with Innocent IV (1591), but there is no good way to link him with this motto. Some have pointed to the fact that he was patriarch of Jerusalem before his election to the papacy, and Jerusalem could be thought of as a “pious city,” but so could Rome and many others. Almost any Christian city would count, and Jerusalem was not a Christian city at this time. Furthermore, Jerusalem was not at war when he was patriarch.

• “Aquila rapax” (“Rapacious eagle”). This is connected with Pius VII (1800–1823), but there is no good way to link him with this motto. Some have proposed that his reign overlapped with that of Napoleon and that Napoleon could be described as a rapacious eagle (that is, a hungry commander of armies), but this is very tenuous and makes the motto not a description of the pope but of someone else who was on the world stage during his reign.

• “Religio depopulata” (“Religion destroyed”). This is connected with Benedict XV (1914–1922), but there is no good way to link him in particular with this motto. There is no obvious connection to his name, family, place of origin, or coat of arms. He did not destroy religion or religious life. Neither were either destroyed during his reign. He did reign during World War I, but that did not destroy either. He also reigned when communism came to power in Russia. That didn’t destroy religion in his day or in Italy. And again, we’d be connecting the motto with something other than the pope. If that were allowed then it would be possible to connect every motto with something that happened somewhere in the world during a pope’s day, and the prophecies would have no particular value as they would all be applicable to any pope.

What should we make of all this?

Let’s return now to the motto that supposedly describes Pope Francis: “Peter the Roman.” The name Peter has no clear connection to Francis, whose baptismal name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio (other than the fact that he held the office of St. Peter, the papacy). And despite having some Italian ancestry, Francis was not Roman by birth but rather Argentinian. 

There’s more: The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that even though the prophecy designates “Peter the Roman” as the last pope, the prophecy does not say that no popes will intervene between him and his predecessor, designated “Gloria olivæ” (“The glory of the olive”). The prophecy merely says that Peter the Roman, whenever he shows up, will be the last. 

Thus there is no compelling reason to believe that Peter the Roman is Pope Francis. (Many news articles and commentators also claim that the prophecy predicts Peter the Roman will show up in 2027, but in reality the document makes no mention of a year.)

Taking all of this together, Catholics need not worry much about St. Malachy’s prophecies. It is not an approved apparition, and the evidence is consistent with it being a forgery composed around 1590.

More fundamentally, Jesus indicated that we would not know the time of the end — and in keeping with Our Lord’s warning, predictions of the end of the world based on the Bible have a dismal track record. Trying to predict the end of time based on an unapproved private revelation that shows signs of being forged is even more misguided. 

We should trust God, live according to his word, and leave the future in his hands.

As Jesus said:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day (Mt 6:34).”

This piece was adapted from a blog post by Jimmy Akin first published in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Feb. 24, 2013.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The 135 cardinals eligible to elect the next pope will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave May 7, the Vatican announced. 

The cardinals will first celebrate the "Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff" in St. Peter's Basilica that morning before processing into the Sistine Chapel that evening.

The Vatican Museums announced that the Sistine Chapel would be closed to visitors beginning April 28 to allow preparations for the conclave to begin. The preparations include the installation of a stove to burn the cardinals' ballots and a chimney on the roof to signal the election results to the world.

The date for the conclave was set during the fifth general congregation meeting of cardinals April 28, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters at a briefing later that day. The general congregation meeting was the first after a two-day pause to allow cardinals to participate in the funeral rites for Pope Francis.

More than 180 cardinals attended the April 28 meeting, including over 100 cardinal electors. During the session, about 20 cardinals offered reflections on the state of the church, its mission in the world, the challenges it faces and the qualities needed in the next pope, Bruni said.

Topics addressed included evangelization, interfaith relations and the ongoing need to address clerical sexual abuse, he added.

The cardinals also discussed whether Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who relinquished the rights associated with being a cardinal after he was forced to resign in 2020, would be permitted to participate in the conclave. Bruni said no decision had yet been made, and Cardinal Becciu has been attending the general congregation meetings.

Looking ahead to the next session, Bruni said the general congregation meeting April 29 would open with a reflection by Benedictine Father Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and a member of the Dicastery for Bishops.

As cardinals entered the Vatican for the morning's session, Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm was asked by reporters if he expected a long conclave. "I think it will be," he said, "because up to now we don't know each other."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Walter Kasper, former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity who is past the age limit to vote in the conclave, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he hopes the cardinal-electors "come to a consensus on the next pope very soon, in the footsteps of Francis."

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Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese May 10-11 or any time at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give

Scenes from the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 21:29 pm (CNA).

The six-kilometer (about 3.5-mile) journey that transported Pope Francis’ body from St. Peter’s Basilica to St. Mary Major featured profound symbolism and emotion. Here are some of the more significant moments:

Departing through ‘the door of his home’

After the funeral Mass, pallbearers carried the coffin not through St. Peter’s Square but via the Perugino Door, steps from Casa Santa Marta — the pope’s Vatican residence throughout his 12-year pontificate — from which he often “escaped” for surprise visits around Rome.

The Mexican popemobile as hearse

In a gesture rich with meaning, the coffin was transported in a white popemobile that Mexico had gifted to the Vatican in 2017 — a modified Dodge Ram that the pope used during his historic 2016 visit to the country. Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Mexico lasted six days, from Friday, Feb. 12, to Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, when he visited five Mexican cities.

From Vatican to Rome crossing the Tiber

The procession crossed the Tiber River via the Prince Amadeo of Savoy Bridge, symbolically marking the passage from Vatican City to Rome. This moment represented Pope Francis’ intimate connection with his role as bishop of Rome.

The bishop of Rome’s final journey

Amid applause from attendees, the procession advanced along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, one of Rome’s main arteries, where thousands of faithful gathered to bid their final farewell to the Argentine pontiff. The route also included the iconic Piazza Venezia, Rome’s neuralgic center, before turning toward the Imperial Forums, connecting Francis’ pontificate with the Eternal City’s millennia of history.

Passing the Jesuit church

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff in history, maintained a special relationship with the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the main headquarters of the Society of Jesus. On July 31, 2013, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, he presided at a concelebration in this church. During each apostolic journey outside Italy, he sought to meet with local Jesuits.

The Colosseum and his final Way of the Cross

One of the most moving moments was when the coffin passed by the Roman Colosseum. As pope, Francis presided each Good Friday over the traditional Way of the Cross, praying for peace and remembering Christian martyrs. Due to health problems, Pope Francis had been unable to preside over this prayer at the historic site since 2023.

The Via Merulana and Corpus Christi

Traveling along Via Merulana, the procession left the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Rome Diocese, in the background, recalling Francis’ special bond with his role as bishop of Rome.

Via Merulana is the traditional route for Corpus Christi processions in Rome, dating back to Pope Gregory XIII, who established this route for religious processions between the two basilicas during the Jubilee of 1575.

Peter returned to his Mother: St. Mary Major

The culminating moment was the arrival at St. Mary Major Basilica, where Francis chose to be buried due to his profound devotion to the Byzantine icon of the Salus Populi Romani. This place held special significance for him, as he visited before and after each apostolic journey to entrust his mission to the Virgin Mary.

Francis rests near St. Jerome and Bernini

Besides Pope Francis, seven other pontiffs, various saints, and famous figures are buried in this church. Some have special connections to the late pope, including St. Jerome, whom Francis honored by instituting the Sunday of the Word of God on the saint’s liturgical memorial.

His tomb is steps away from Argentina in Rome

St. Mary Major Basilica is located just steps from the most Argentine place in the country: the Argentine embassy to Italy. Francis never returned to his homeland after being elected pontiff, and rumors circulated for years about his desire to be buried in Buenos Aires.

White roses from St. Thérèse of Lisieux on Pope Francis’ tomb

Pope Francis had a special devotion to the French Carmelite mystic St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose symbol is the white rose. The pope once explained his connection to these flowers, telling journalists in January 2015 after his trip to the Philippines: “When I don’t know how things will go, I have the habit of asking St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus to take the problem in her hands and send me a rose.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis greets young people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on April 17, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

In a video message published after his death but recorded in January, Pope Francis encouraged young people to work on listening well to others.

The video, shared by the Italian weekly magazine Oggi, was made public one day after the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, who died at the Vatican on April 21.

In the video, recorded on Jan. 8, Pope Francis addressed a group of teens and young adults participating in “Listening Workshops,” an initiative started by the Italian Luca Drusian.

According to Vatican Media, the idea behind the workshops is for young people to discuss different topics while experiencing the beauty of both listening to others and being heard.

“Dear boys and girls, one of the most important things in life is to listen — to learn how to listen,” Francis said in the recording, taken in his Santa Marta residence.

“When someone speaks to you, wait for them to finish so you can really understand, and then, if you feel like it, respond. But the important thing is to listen,” he said, explaining they should not rush to give an answer.

The pope said: “Look closely at people — people don’t listen. Halfway through an explanation, they’ll answer, and that doesn’t help peace. Listen — listen a lot.”

Francis also told young people to listen to their grandparents, who “teach us so much.”

The posthumous papal message was made public as an estimated 200,000 people, many of them teenagers, attended Mass in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of April 27.

The Mass was celebrated both as part of the Church’s second day of the “Novendiales,” nine days of mourning, for Pope Francis, and as part of the Jubilee of Teenagers, which took place in Rome April 25-27.

The day after the late pope’s funeral and burial, tens of thousands of people visited his tomb in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In the afternoon, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, led vespers in a packed basilica. The College of Cardinals also attended.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin presides over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025, held in St. Peter’s Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps as “instruments of mercy for humanity” in the world today. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday held in St. Peter’s Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps as “instruments of mercy for humanity” in the world today. 

“Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred, and violence: This is the great teaching of Pope Francis,” Parolin said in his Sunday homily.

“Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness toward those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy,” he added. 

Approximately 200,000 people participated in the outdoor Mass offered for the late pontiff on the second day of the Church’s “Novendiales” mourning period, the Holy See Press Office reported. 

“Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection,” Parolin said. “It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity.”

Insisting that people’s affections for the late pope “must not remain a mere emotion of the moment,” Parolin said “the Church must welcome his legacy” by “opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another.” 

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims who took part in Jubilee of Teenagers festivities from April 25–27 were also present at the Divine Mercy Mass dedicated to the late pontiff, including several European scouts groups, such as Italy’s Scouts D’Europa, and American parish groups, including youth from the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia.

Addressing the throngs of teenagers present in the square — many of whom were shielding themselves from the hot morning sun under colorful hats and umbrellas — Parolin encouraged them to be close to Jesus Christ and to show his “merciful face” to all those they encounter in life.

“I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you,” Parolin said to applause from those gathered in the square. 

“[Jesus] comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams,” he said to young people. “He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love.” 

The Mass celebration for the second Sunday of Easter concluded with the singing of the midday Regina Coeli prayer before an image of the icon of “Salus Populi Romani” (“Health of the Roman People”) placed next to the main altar erected in St. Peter’s Square.

Carlo Acutis. / Credit: carloacutis.com

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The unexpected death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, postponed the much-anticipated canonization of Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who captivated a generation of young Catholics with his love of the Eucharist and passion for technology.

Now, as the Church prepares for a conclave to elect a new pope, tens of thousands of young pilgrims who traveled to Rome for the canonization remain in the Eternal City, holding vigil for the departed pope.

Acutis’ journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last three popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager’s short life and legacy.

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Now, it will be up to the next pope to canonize the Church’s first millennial saint.

A childhood inspired by John Paul II

Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo’s Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo’s early faith.

In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II’s act of entrustment of the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter’s Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini’s colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.

“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future,” John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.

Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI

When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was “fascinated” by Benedict XVI.

The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI saying: “I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven.”

Beatification under Pope Francis

Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis’ heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization. 

Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo’s life stood as a witness against the temptation of “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure” in the digital world.

“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least,” Pope Francis said the day after Carlo’s beatification in 2020.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo’s canonization on April 27 during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, that Mass will now be offered as one of the Novendiales — the nine days of mourning that follow the death of a pope — as part of a revised schedule for the Jubilee of Teenagers.

A saint for the next pope

Carlo Acutis’ canonization will now be one of the first major acts awaiting the next pope. The timing and location of the canonization Mass will be left to the discretion of Francis’ successor, who will likely recognize the moment as an opportunity to speak to the Church’s future and to its youth as the canonization of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates the Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025 — the second day of mourning for the late Pope Francis. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Editor's Note: On April 27, 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin served as principal celebrant for the second Novendiales Mass following Pope Francis' funeral. The following homily was delivered on Divine Mercy Sunday in St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee of Teenagers, as published by the Holy See Press Office.

Dear brothers and sisters,

The risen Jesus appears to his disciples while they are in the upper room where they have fearfully shut themselves in, with the doors locked (Jn 20:19). Their state of mind is disturbed and their hearts are full of sadness, because the master and shepherd they had followed, leaving everything behind, has been nailed to the cross. They experienced terrible things and feel orphaned, alone, lost, threatened, and helpless.

The opening image that the Gospel offers us on this Sunday can also well represent the state of mind of all of us, of the Church, and of the entire world. The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us. The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: We are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.

Yet, the Gospel tells us that it is precisely in these moments of darkness that the Lord comes to us with the light of the Resurrection to illuminate our hearts. Pope Francis reminded us of this since his election and often repeated it to us, placing at the center of his pontificate that joy of the Gospel which, as he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, “fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew” (EG, 1).

The joy of Easter, which sustains us in this time of trial and sadness, is something that can almost be touched in this square today; you can see it etched above all in your faces, dear children and young people who have come from all over the world to celebrate the jubilee. You come from so many places: from all of the dioceses of Italy, from Europe, from the United States to Latin America, from Africa to Asia, from the United Arab Emirates… with you here, the whole world is truly present!

I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you.

In light of the many challenges you are called to confront — I think, for example, of the technology and artificial intelligence that characterize our age in a particular way — never forget to nourish your lives with the true hope that has the face of Jesus Christ. Nothing will be too great or too challenging with him! With him you will never be alone or abandoned, not even in the worst of times! He comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams. He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love, to whom you have so much to give and from whom so much to receive, to help you to be generous, faithful, and responsible as you move forward in life. He wants to help you to understand what is most valuable in life: the love that encompasses all things and hopes all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:7).

Today, on the second Sunday of Easter, Dominica in Albis, we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. 

It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity. Likewise the eagerness to proclaim and share God’s mercy with all — the proclamation of the good news, evangelization — was the principal theme of his pontificate. He reminded us that “mercy” is the very name of God, and, therefore, no one can put a limit on his merciful love with which he wants to raise us up and make us new people.

It is important to welcome as a precious treasure this principle on which Pope Francis insisted so much. And — allow me to say — our affection for him, which is being manifested in this time, must not remain a mere emotion of the moment; we must welcome his legacy and make it part of our lives, opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another.

Mercy takes us back to the heart of faith. It reminds us that we do not have to interpret our relationship with God and our being Church according to human or worldly categories. The good news of the Gospel is first and foremost the discovery of being loved by a God who has compassionate and tender feelings for each one of us, regardless of our merits. It also reminds us that our life is woven with mercy: We can only get back up after our falls and look to the future if we have someone who loves us without limits and forgives us. Therefore, we are called to the commitment of living our relationships no longer according to the criteria of calculation or blinded by selfishness but by opening ourselves to dialogue with others, welcoming those we meet along the way and forgiving their weaknesses and mistakes. Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred, and violence: This is the great teaching of Pope Francis.

Jesus shows us this merciful face of God in his preaching and in the deeds he performs. Furthermore, as we have heard, when he presents himself in the upper room after the Resurrection, he offers the gift of peace and says: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23). Thus, the risen Lord directs his disciples, his Church, to be instruments of mercy for humanity for those willing to accept God’s love and forgiveness. Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness toward those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy. He reminded us that there can be no peace without the recognition of the other, without attention to those who are weaker and, above all, there can never be peace if we do not learn to forgive one another, showing each another the same mercy that God shows us.

Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection. Indeed, such memories are particularly vivid among the employees and faithful of Vatican City, many of whom are present here, and whom I would like to thank for the service they perform every day. To you, to all of us, to the whole world, Pope Francis extends his embrace from heaven.

We entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he was so devoted that he chose to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. May she protect us, intercede for us, watch over the Church, and support the journey of humanity in peace and fraternity. Amen.

Original painting of the Divine Mercy by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934; Pope John Paul II in 1996. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons 4.0; Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Maria Faustina Kowalska and declared the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. This year, we celebrate the feast on April 27.

In his devotion, Pope John Paul II entrusted the world to divine mercy two years later, when he consecrated the International Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki, Poland.

Standing before the image of divine mercy, the pope said: “I wish solemnly to entrust the world to divine mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through St. Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope.”

He finished his homily with this prayer:

God, merciful Father,

in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love

and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,

We entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.

Bend down to us sinners,

heal our weakness,

conquer all evil,

and grant that all the peoples of the earth

may experience your mercy.

In you, the Triune God,

may they ever find the source of hope.

Eternal Father,

by the passion and resurrection of your Son,

have mercy on us and upon the whole world!

The consecration and entrustment of the world to Divine Mercy represented the fulfillment of a mission for Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938). Faustina, a poor, young Polish nun, experienced visions of Jesus in which he asked her to make his message of infinite love and mercy known to the world. At the request of her spiritual director, she made a record of the visions in her diary.

In his visitations, Jesus asked her to have a painting made portraying him as he appeared to her. In her diary she recorded the vision:

“Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’ I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.”

In another visitation, he asked the nun that she help establish Divine Mercy Sunday on the first Sunday after Easter to offer the world salvation.

Faustina recorded Jesus’ words: “This feast emerged from the very depths of my mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. Every soul believing and trusting in my mercy will obtain it.”

It was the mission that Pope John Paul II also felt called to help complete.

If St. Faustina was the initial receptacle for the message of divine mercy, her Polish compatriot saw to it that the requests Jesus made of the nun were fulfilled, and the devotion spread throughout the world.

As a young seminarian in Krakow in 1940, Karol Wojtyla first learned of St. Faustina’s revelations and the message of divine mercy. Later as a priest, he was a frequent visitor to the convent where Faustina lived, stopping by to pray and hold retreats. When he became archbishop of Krakow, he led the effort to put Faustina’s name before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and defended her when the validity of her claims was questioned in Rome. 

As pope, he published his second encyclical, Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), on Nov. 30, 1980. 

The following year, while recovering from an assassination attempt, Pope John Paul II traveled to the Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Italy, where he revealed that he felt spreading the message of divine mercy to be his greatest calling.

”Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter’s See in Rome, I considered this message my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church, and the world. It could be said that precisely this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God,” he said.

At the beatification of St. Faustina on April 18, 1993, the pope spoke of his delight at witnessing the popularity of the devotion to divine mercy.

“Her mission continues and is yielding astonishing fruit. It is truly marvelous how her devotion to the merciful Jesus is spreading in our contemporary world and gaining so many human hearts!” the pope said.

Yet there was more to be done. On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina Kowalska and declared the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

When Pope John Paul II entrusted the world to divine mercy, he shared his hope that the world would hear the message that God is merciful. Quoting from Faustina’s diary, he said:

“May this message radiate from this place to our beloved homeland and throughout the world. May the binding promise of the Lord Jesus be fulfilled: from here there must go forth ‘the spark which will prepare the world for his final coming’” (cf. Diary, 1732).

“This spark needs to be lighted by the grace of God. This fire of mercy needs to be passed on to the world. In the mercy of God the world will find peace and mankind will find happiness! I entrust this task to you, dear brothers and sisters, to the Church in Kraków and Poland, and to all the votaries of divine mercy who will come here from Poland and from throughout the world. May you be witnesses to mercy!” he said.

Today, devotion to divine mercy is popular among Catholics around the world. Churches and shrines and religious orders have dedicated themselves to sharing the message received by St. Faustina and which St. John Paul II considered his “task before God.”

To learn more about the divine mercy devotion, visit the website for the divine mercy shrine in Poland or the National Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

This story was first published on Aug. 17, 2022, and has been updated.