In final act of mercy, Pope Francis donates entire private bank account to prisoners; National Catholic Reporter, April 29, 2025

 CAMILLO BARONE, National Catholic Reporter ; In final act of mercy, Pope Francis donates entire private bank account to prisoners

"At the end of his life, Pope Francis made one last symbolic gesture: He emptied his personal bank account to donate 200,000 euros to the prisoners he had long championed.

It was a final act of love toward those he had called his "brothers and sisters behind bars," an act that Bishop Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary Bishop of Rome and director of the Office for Prison Pastoral Care, said captures the very essence of Francis' pontificate.

Ambarus has witnessed firsthand the pope's commitment to the incarcerated. Even as his strength visibly declined, Francis refused to abandon the most forgotten members of society during Holy Week."

For Pope Francis, a Last Burst of Pastoring Before Death; The New York Times, April 21, 2025

Jason HorowitzElisabetta PovoledoEmma Bubola and Michael Levenson, The New York Times; For Pope Francis, a Last Burst of Pastoring Before Death

"For the faithful who began streaming into St. Peter’s Square in tears, Francis’ death at 88 was shocking, coming at the end of a brief period in which he had seemed determined to return to his pastoral duties. He had used his final days to emphasize the themes that defined his papacy, particularly the need to defend migrants and others on the margins of society...

Many said they were particularly distraught because Francis’ style of leadership had made him seem particularly accessible. “He was one of us, one of the people,” Maria Teresa Volpi, 80, said. “He was everyone’s pope.”...

World leaders also mourned the pope’s death, praising his commitment to the poor and marginalized...

His final address was read aloud by a Vatican aide and amplified many of the priorities of his papacy. It called for disarmament and lamented the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in Gaza and the plight of immigrants.

“How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!” Francis wrote."