ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Leo paid respects on Tuesday to his predecessor Francis on the anniversary of his death last year, remembering the first pontiff from the Americas as someone who gave the 1.4-billion-member Church "so much with his words and his witness."
Over his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis "promoted an authentic respect for all men and women... that we are all brothers and sisters," Leo said in comments aboard his flight to Equatorial Guinea for the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour.
"We pray that he is already enjoying the mercy of the Lord and we thank the Lord for the great gift of Francis' life to the Church and the whole world."
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, died of a stroke one year ago on the morning of April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 after surviving a serious bout of double pneumonia.
As pope, he sought to reform the global Church in ways that often attracted the ire of conservative Catholics, who worried he was watering down the faith's strict doctrinal teachings.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has recently criticized Leo after the current pope emerged in recent weeks as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, also took issue with Francis.
The two disagreed publicly in 2016 over the president's plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Francis suggested Trump's hard-line anti-immigration policies were unchristian, after which Trump called the pope "disgraceful."
Francis, known for his simple style, never moved into the ornate apartments meant for the pope and lived instead at a Vatican hotel.
His burial on April 26, 2025, was humble for a leader of the Church, with the pope asking to be interred in a simple, zinc-lined wooden coffin.
He was the first pope in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican, choosing Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary Major as his final resting place. His tomb there is marked with a simple inscription of his name in Latin: "Franciscus."
The Basilica is due to hold a Mass in his honour later on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Alexandra Hudson)
