Following the death of the Holy Father Pope Francis on 21 April 2025, Eu bishops – COMECE, which is composed of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of all Member States of the European Union – has published the following statement:
With profound gratitude and emotion, we remember our Holy Father Francis, who tirelessly led the Church with courage and strength through years marked by multiple crises all over the world. In such difficult times, he was never afraid to face the challenges and to offer his profethic voice, always motivated by the desire to bring the joy of the Gospel to the men and women of our time.
Pope Francis was truly one of the great witnesses of our times, beloved and respected even by non-believers, and whose first concern was always directed towards the most fragile members of God’s Creation. His voice spoke to hearts with simplicity and depth, through concrete gestures of love, listening and closeness. COMECE had the privilege of maintaining regular contact with the Holy Father throughout his pontificate.
On every occasion, the bishops and staff of COMECE received his wisdom and encouragement to pursue with strength our mission of dialogue with the institutions of the European Union. We remember with emotion and inspiration the Holy Father’s visit to the European Parliament in 2014, the meeting at Rethinking Europe in 2017, the audience with the full COMECE Assembly in 2023, as well as the annual audiences granted to our Presidency and the precious messages the Pope consistently dedicated to the European Union, promoting dialogue and peace.
We remember Pope Francis’ visits and presence around the world, beloved and acclaimed by the faithful among the trees of the Amazon and the ziggurats of Iraq. We remember him alone on the cold, rain-soaked steps of St. Peter’s Basilica praying for the whole humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We thank Pope Francis for having offered an inspired, creative, and regenerating leadership to the Church – for example, by standing firmly alongside the victims of sexual abuse within the Church and promoting genuine listening through the Synod on Synodality, with the aim of making everyone a protagonist in vital aspects of the Church’s structure and practices.
We are grateful to Pope Francis for having renewed our attention toward ecology and sustainability, offering the encyclical Laudato Si’ as a powerful instrument to promote integral development policies that take into account all aspects – not just the economic one. We are also thankful for the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, consistently and firmly reaffirming that differences enrich us and that, despite everything, we are all brothers and sisters. For this reason, we must come closer to one another, building bridges instead of walls, abandoning war as a means of resolving conflicts, and embracing listening, dialogue, and diplomacy. In this Jubilee Year – one of the Holy Father’s final great efforts – we are grateful to the Pope for his constant attention to Europe, always urging us to make it better by strengthening its vocation for peace. In his memory, and in the light of his example, we will continue with renewed commitment our service to the Church and to the common good of Europe.
Thank you, Holy Father. Rest in peace.
COMECE is composed of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of all Member States of the European Union. It was established in 1980 with the approval of the Holy See to represent the EU Bishops’ Conferences before the EU institutions. COMECE carries out a dialogue with the EU institutions, providing contributions that promote common good and a human-centred approach in EU policies.
The Bishops’ Communications Office in Maynooth has made available digital Books of Condolences for people to record their sympathy and these are available on the homepage of catholicbishops.ie, on the Irish bishops’ social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and on BlueSky.
ENDS
