Official statement of the World Religious Tourism Network and the Tourism and Society Think Tank on the occasion of the passing away of His Holiness Pope Francis

21-04-25

It is with deep sorrow and Christian recollection that the World Religious Tourism Network, a programme of the Tourism and Society Think Tank, mourns the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis on Monday 21 April in the year of our Lord 2025.

We raise our prayers to the Most High for the eternal repose of his soul and express our communion with the entire Catholic Church and the millions of faithful who today mourn the departure of the Holy Father. His Holiness Pope Francis was a living testimony of humility, evangelical simplicity, mercy and closeness to the poorest and most marginalised. His pontificate marked a period of spiritual renewal, interreligious dialogue and defence of human dignity.

From the World Religious Tourism Network, we are grateful for his impulse to the pilgrimage as an act of faith and encounter, and for his profound call to rediscover the deepest root of the human being in the spiritual journey.

Today the Church and the world bid farewell to a shepherd who knew how to guide with wisdom, tenderness and firmness the course of Christianity in times of global challenges. We join in prayer with the College of Cardinals, the clergy and the faithful of all nations, trusting in the hope of the resurrection.