All of Pope Francis' gestures, meetings and desires for encounter were themselves a form of “teaching.” And L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics and their families have told me repeatedly what a difference this change in approach has meant. 

A Reflection for Friday of the Octave of Easter, by Sam Sawyer, S.J.

A Reflection for Wednesday in the Octave of Easter, by Robert Buckland

Pope Francis was a great lover of literature: He peppered his homilies, talks and even encyclicals with literary references from Dostoyevsky, Proust, Hopkins, Dante and more, and he also encouraged his flock to read broadly and often.

In Africa, a person of Pope Francis’ moral caliber and spiritual substance holds the coveted designation of “ancestor,” whose role includes everlasting solicitude for the community he or she leaves behind.

President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half mast in honor of Pope Francis. Mr. Trump, one of many U.S. political leaders remembering the late pope, called Francis “a good man.”

Joining host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., on this episode of “Preach” ahead of the Second Sunday of Easter, Casey Stanton argues that the Acts of the Apostles are “a way to recover something that feels lost right now: a common life together.”

Pope Francis was overwhelmingly popular with ordinary Catholics in the United States. But Francis’ priorities often failed to take root here.

“Pope Francis entered the papacy as a Jesuit, governed as one and died as one,” Father James Martin writes.

As Pope Francis’ legacy is debated in the coming weeks, one key area for examination will be his advancements of women in the Vatican, whether his changes were sufficient and whether they will last.