On April 21, 2025, University president Peter Kilpatrick shared the following message with the campus community.
Dear Members of the University Community,
The Vatican officially confirmed that Pope Francis entered into eternal life earlier this morning. As the Church across the entire world mourns his loss, I invite all of you to join me in praying for the repose of his soul. We will gather as a community this evening at 9:30 p.m. for a Rosary Vigil in St. Vincent’s Chapel. Campus Ministry will then lead us in the customary mourning period.
We would do well to keep in our hearts the Holy Father’s continual exhortations to entrust ourselves entirely to the love of Jesus Christ, and to give it concrete expression. His consistent advocacy for those on the margins, including refugees and migrants, underscored the Church's social teaching about human dignity.
He called us to reject the “disposable culture” that would have us treat people as mere objects to be manipulated or as obstacles on our path to power. Through his encyclical “Laudato Si,” he expanded our understanding of our duty to care for all of creation, and to offer a healthy ecology to future generations. Following his example and his letter “Fratelli Tutti,” our convictions about the truth of the Gospel should lead us to confidently and joyfully engage in dialogue with any and all comers. We should embrace his vision for Catholic education as expressed in "Veritatis Gaudium," where he called for education that forms missionary disciples prepared to address contemporary challenges with intellectual rigor and spiritual depth.
Francis will certainly be remembered as a pope of many firsts — the first Jesuit pope, the first pope not only from Argentina but from the Americas — but he was first and foremost an heir of St. Peter, and the 266th man to serve the Church as our pontiff. As we pray for him, let us also keep the entire Church in our prayers during this period of transition, thanking God for the gift of Francis’ papacy and trusting Our Lord’s promise that the Church He established will endure.
Sincerely in Christ,
Peter Kilpatrick
President
The Catholic University of America
