US bishops honor Pope Francis’ legacy in hours after his death
Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88, “will long be remembered for his outreach to those on the margins of the Church and of society,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement shared in the first hours after the pope’s death.
“He renewed for us the mission to bring the Gospel out to the ends of the earth and offer divine mercy to all. He has also taken advantage of the present Jubilee to call us to a profound hope: one that is not an empty or naïve hope, but one grounded in the promise of Almighty God to be with us always,” Archbishop Broglio wrote.
Bishops around the United States began issuing tributes to Pope Francis and his 12-year pontificate shortly after the news of his death April 21, Easter Monday. He died at the Vatican 7:35 a.m. Rome time.