The Mexican Episcopal Conference -CEM- commemorated the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, 2025, at the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican at the age of 88. Through an official statement, the Mexican bishops invited the People of God to remember the life and pontificate of the first Latin American and Jesuit pope.
“In his words and gestures, he encouraged us not to fall into resignation or indifference, but to be a Church that accompanies, consoles, and commits to the dignity of each person, especially those who suffer the most”, states the text signed by Bishop Ramón Castro Castro. They highlighted that Francis will be remembered for his emphasis on mercy, ecological commitment, promotion of fraternity, synodal listening, and greater participation of women in the life of the Church. His vision of a close and outgoing Church, they added, continues to inspire a missionary commitment to the most vulnerable.
In the Mexican context, marked by violence and social polarization, the CEM emphasized that Francis’s call to build a culture of encounter and to walk as brothers remains urgent. They recalled his apostolic visit to Mexico in February 2016, during which he toured urban peripheries and regions in the south and north of the country, with messages on peace, solidarity with migrants, denunciation of corruption, and defense of social justice.
At the same time, in the Vatican, a day of remembrance took place in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the place chosen by Francis himself for his burial. On April 21, the Rosary was prayed and a suffrage Mass was celebrated presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. The temple gathered cardinals, bishops, religious, and faithful who went to the tomb, adorned with white and yellow flowers.
During the Eucharist, a message from Pope Leo XIV was read, who was on an apostolic journey in Africa. The successor of Francis remembered his predecessor as “successor of Peter and pastor of the universal Church in a time that marked and is still marking a change of era”. He described him as a “disciple-missionary” who invited mercy “to all, to all, to all”.
As a permanent gesture, a commemorative bronze plaque was inaugurated with a Latin inscription that reads: “Francisco, Supreme Pontiff, who stopped 126 times in devout prayer at the feet of the Salus Populi Romani, by his own will rests in this Papal Basilica, on the first anniversary of his death”. The plaque recalls the special devotion of the Argentine pontiff who visited the Basilica before and after each international trip.
In the framework of this anniversary, the Infovaticana portal published an extensive balance of the pontificate titled “One Year Without Francis: Balance of a Pontificate That Fractured the Church”. The article, signed by the editorial team, evaluates Bergoglio’s legacy with a critical gaze. It highlights that his governance was characterized by an authoritarian style that contradicted his preaching of synodality, as well as the promotion of doctrinal ambiguity in documents such as Amoris Laetitia, which opened the possibility of communion in irregular situations, and Fiducia Supplicans on blessings for irregular couples. It also criticizes the restrictions imposed by Traditionis Custodes on the traditional liturgy and points out fractures in the sacramental and disciplinary unity of the Church with episcopal rejections on several continents.
One year after his departure, the official commemoration of the CEM and the activities in the Vatican coexist with these critical reflections. Both in Mexico and in Rome, the figure of Jorge Mario Bergoglio still generates diverse interpretations about his impact on the universal Church. His closeness to the discarded and his insistence on an outgoing Church continue to be present in the ecclesial debate.