April 21, 2025, Monday of the Octave of Easter, Holy Rosary (Joyful Mysteries) | Remembering Pope Francis

04/21/25 • 31 min

Friends of the Rosary,

Rest in Peace, Pope Francis!

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, passed away on Monday at the age of 88, reaching the end of his earthly pilgrimage.

"At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father," Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced. "His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church."

Francis recently spent more than a month in the hospital with double pneumonia. But he emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square and make a surprise popemobile ride through the piazza.

It was his last public appearance before his death.

As we celebrate Pope Francis’ life and legacy, we pray today's Rosary for the repose of his soul.

Pope Francis was a faithful pastor who spoke from the heart with mercy and affection. He remarked that the Catholic Church is a healing hospital to those wounded by our secular society.

We also reflect upon some of his words:

"There is an urgent need to see once again that faith is a light."

"The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence."
"Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love."

"Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us."

"Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time."

"Yet since Christ has risen and draws us beyond death, faith is also a light coming from the future and opening before us vast horizons. It is a light in our darkness."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• ⁠April 21, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,

Rest in Peace, Pope Francis!

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, passed away on Monday at the age of 88, reaching the end of his earthly pilgrimage.

It was his last public appearance before his death.

As we celebrate Pope Francis’ life and legacy, we pray today's Rosary for the repose of his soul.

Pope Francis was a faithful pastor who spoke from the heart with mercy and affection. He remarked that the Catholic Church is a healing hospital to those wounded by our secular society.

We also reflect upon some of his words:

"There is an urgent need to see once again that faith is a light."

"The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence."
"Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love."

"Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us."

"Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time."

"Yet since Christ has risen and draws us beyond death, faith is also a light coming from the future and opening before us vast horizons. It is a light in our darkness."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• ⁠April 21, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Previous Episode

April 20, 2025, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Holy Rosary (Glorious Mysteries) | Fifth Anniversary of the Rosary Network

Friends of the Rosary,
Today, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, we celebrate that Christ, who remained two days in the tomb, is risen from the dead, unleashing on the third day God’s forgiving and hopeful love in all its power.

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." The words heard by the women at the tomb — Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James — are addressed to us today, too.

It means that death, sin, fear, and solitude are not the last words. The Resurrection transcends our sinful human nature. Jesus is truly risen.

And our hope has the name of the Risen Lord. He restores us to life.

Today, too, He walks in our midst, changes us, and sets us free from sin. The Evil One has no power over us.

Christ shines and His eternal light overcomes the darkness of the world.

Happy Easter!

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• April 20, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Next Episode

April 22, 2025, Tuesday of the Octave of Easter, Holy Rosary (Sorrowful Mysteries) | Remembering Pope Francis

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, Tuesday within the Octave of Easter, we continue to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Pope Francis as we pray through our daily Rosary for the repose of his soul.

The Vatican announced that Francis, the first pope from Latin America, passed away due to a sudden stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse after 38 days of hospitalization, and revealed that his will requested a humble tomb with the inscription "Franciscus" at St. Mary Major, one of the four major basilicas in Rome.

This burial place contains the Salus Populi Romani, an ancient icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the health of the Roman People. Pope Francis was always there, thanking Jesus through Mary.

The funeral Mass will take place this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time in St. Peter's Square (4:00 p.m. ET).

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside at the Mass, which will be concelebrated by Patriarchs, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and priests from across the globe.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the coffin containing the Pope’s body will be carried from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta to St. Peter’s Basilica, so that the faithful may pay their respects until Friday, and then to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for entombment.

In his Easter Sunday homily, Francis called "Christians to actively seek the risen Jesus in their daily lives", urging believers to 'run' just as the disciples did after discovering the empty tomb.

“We must look for him without ceasing,” emphasized the Pope. “Because if he has risen from the dead, then he is present everywhere, he dwells among us, he hides himself and reveals himself even today in the sisters and brothers we meet along the way.”

In today’s Gospel (John 20:11-18), we find Mary Magdalene weeping by the tomb of the risen Lord.

Jesus said, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers..."

The idea is not to cling to Jesus, but to proclaim what He has accomplished.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

• ⁠April 22, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET