date: 21.04.2025.
Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, in his residence, the Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican, reported Vatican News. At 9:45 a.m., Cardinal Kevin Farrell, camerlegno of the Apostolic Chamber, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta:
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, returned to the house of the Father. He dedicated his entire life to the service of the Lord and His Church. He taught us how to live the values of the Gospel faithfully, courageously, and with universal love, especially for the benefit of the poorest and most excluded. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we entrust the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
The Holy Father, who has been the head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was elected pope after his predecessor, Benedict XVI, resigned, becoming the first pope to do so in almost 600 years.
Pope Francis has been closely following the events in Medjugorje since the beginning of his pontificate – and even earlier as Cardinal Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was presented with the work of the Ruini Commission, which was formed by his predecessor Benedict XVI. Many have interpreted his statements about Medjugorje in different ways, and it is a fact that he has regularly addressed the participants of the Youth Festival in Medjugorje in his official letters since 2020.
Even before that, on the memorial day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 2017, the Holy Father entrusted Msgr. Henryk Hoser, SAC, the Archbishop of Warsaw-Prague (Poland), to go to Medjugorje as a special envoy of the Holy See.
On May 31, 2018, the Holy Father Francis appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser, the former Special Envoy of the Holy See, as the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje. Archbishop Hoser began his ministry in Medjugorje with a solemn Holy Mass on Sunday, July 22 at 7 p.m.
''Pope Francis has issued a decision authorizing pilgrimages to Medjugorje, which from now on will be officially organized by dioceses and parishes and will no longer be only in a "private" form as has been the case until now.
This was announced at the morning Holy Mass on May 12, 2019 in the parish-shrine of Medjugorje, which has become the destination of millions of pilgrims, by the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mons. Luigi Pezzuto, and Mons. Henryk Hoser, Apostolic Visitor of the Holy See with a special role for Medjugorje,'' Vatican News reported, as reported by the Catholic Information Agency.
Thirty shrines and places of prayer from all over the world, including Medjugorje, prayed the Rosary every day in May 2021 for the end of the pandemic, as a part of a prayer marathon whose theme was: 'The Church prayed to God with all her heart' (Acts 12:5). The initiative, organized by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization at the request of Pope Francis, specifically involved shrines around the world, so that they could be promoters of the Rosary among the faithful, families and communities. The Rosary was broadcast live on the official channels of the Holy See every day at 6 p.m., and the Rosary was prayed in Medjugorje on Saturday, May 15, 2021. The Rosary in Medjugorje was led by the Provincial of the Herzegovina Franciscan Order at that time, Fr. Miljenko Šteko, and Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, at that time the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was assisted by novices of the Herzegovina Franciscan Province. The parishioners of the parish of Medjugorje prayed the Rosary, and the Choir of the Queen of Peace Medjugorje sang a hymn. After praying the Rosary, Archbishop Pezzuto celebrated Holy Mass.
The Press Office of the Holy See announced at noon, November 27, 2021, that Pope Francis had appointed the Archbishop Monsignor Aldo Cavalli, titular Archbishop of Vibo Valentia (Vibo Valentia – Latin: Dioecesis Vibonensis), the former Apostolic Nuncio in the Netherlands, as the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje, for an indefinite period and ad nutum Sanctae Sedis. This is a continuation of the mission carried out in Medjugorje by Archbishop Henryk Hoser, S.A.C., who died on August 13, 2021 in Warsaw.
Archbishop Cavalli arrived in Medjugorje on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11, 2022), and Archbishop Cavalli celebrated the first Holy Mass with parishioners and pilgrims in Medjugorje on February 13, 2022 at 11 a.m. in the Church of St. James.
"I thank the Lord and the Virgin Mary who sent me here through the Holy Father," Archbishop Cavalli said at the time.
“The Apostolic Penitentiary, with the purpose of increasing the piety of the faithful and the salvation of souls, by virtue of the faculties bestowed upon him in a most special way by our Most Holy Father in Christ Our Lord, Pope Francis, by Divine Providence, attentively considering the recent petitions presented by His Excellency Aldo Cavalli, Titular Archbishop of Vibo, Apostolic Visitor for the Parish of Saint James the Apostle in Medjugorje, of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, graciously grants a Plenary Indulgence from the treasury of the Church's heavenly mercy, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff), to the faithful who are truly penitent and moved by charity, which they can obtain throughout the Ordinary Jubilee Year of 2025, and which they can also use as a prayer for the souls of the faithful in purgatory if they make a pilgrimage to the parish church of St. James the Apostle in Medjugorje and devoutly participate in the Jubilee rites there or at least dedicate appropriate time to pious prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the invocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, it was announced, among the other things, in the Decree on the Plenary Indulgence of Medjugorje, which was the last decision of the Holy See on Medjugorje during the pontificate of Pope Francis, and the most significant is certainly the Note Queen of Peace of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on the spiritual experience related to Medjugorje.
This Note was published on September 19, 2024, and with it the Vatican grants Medjugorje the status of "Nihil obstat". The document of the Dicastery, approved by Pope Francis, does not speak of the supernatural, but recognizes the abundant spiritual fruits related to the parish in Medjugorje and gives a generally positive opinion about the messages, reported Vatican News. This encourages church pilgrimages and devotions in Medjugorje.
Archbishop Cavalli: Pope Francis made Medjugorje an international center of spirituality
In October 2022, the XIV National Mariological-Marian Congress "Medjugorje as a Contribution to the New Evangelization" was held in Medjugorje, and on October 19, the collection of the scientific papers from this congress was presented. The Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, thanked everyone who organized this congress and published their scientific papers at the presentation of the collection, saying that the fundamental points of the new evangelization were very well explained both at the congress and in this collection.
Then, speaking about Medjugorje as a center of the new evangelization, he said that all the popes have shown great interest in this place, especially referring to the relationship between Pope Francis and Medjugorje.
"We know that Saint John Paul II wanted to come here and visit this place that he greatly respected, but he could not. Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Ruini conducted research that was fundamental for the pastoral change in this place. And this Pope, Pope Francis, made Medjugorje an international center of spirituality, with three very precise points:
The first: when he said five years ago to all the priests and bishops: follow, follow and follow your faithful to Medjugorje. The second point: when he took the entire pastoral care of this parish and legally placed it under his direct control and his direct pastoral care. And wanting to give the parish such great importance, so great, that he appointed, something unique in the world, a bishop, with all the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, only for this parish.
And the third point, telling the whole world that nihil obstat, which means one very important thing: the translation of nihil obstat means there is nothing against it, but in fact he wants to say in short, go, go, go to Medjugorje, because this place "...of deep spirituality and faith that is l for the whole world. Now we must, Medjugorje, which is located in an international framework, not only maintain but also develop it by cooperating, cooperating as best as possible with grace, because the greatness of this place is the grace that comes from the Holy Spirit. For this reason, I would like to thank once again all those who organized this Congress and who finally gathered all these works from the Congress into a Collection to help everyone cooperate with this grace for the whole world," Archbishop Cavalli said at the time.
