Pope offers thanks for ‘great gift’ of Francis, one year on from his death

Pope Leo paid respects on Tuesday to his predecessor Francis on the anniversary of his death last year, remembering the first pontiff from the Americas as someone who gave the 1.4-billion-member Church “so much with his words and his witness.”

Over his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis “promoted an authentic respect for all men and women… that we are all brothers and sisters,” Leo said in comments aboard his flight to Equatorial Guinea for the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

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