Overview

• Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin issued a message on behalf of the Roman Curia expressing gratitude for the Pope’s witness and assuring prayers for his health and strength.
• National bishops’ conferences sent formal greetings, with Italy offering thanksgiving messages, the Philippines adding prayers at every parish Mass today, and SECAM emphasizing justice and peace.
• Religious orders and Catholic agencies, including the Jesuits under Fr. Arturo Sosa and Caritas Internationalis, praised his call to serve the poor and reach the peripheries.
• Civil and ecumenical leaders—Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and the World Council of Churches—sent tributes underscoring peace, dialogue, and Christian unity.
• Grassroots observances included special Masses across Latin America, a Polish youth digital ‘spiritual bouquet’ surpassing 50,000 pledged prayers, and evening vigils in Nigeria, as the Pope thanked well-wishers in St. Peter’s Square and prepared for an ecumenical prayer service.