By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged Christians to pray for the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s death.
“Pope Francis passed away this morning after battling health issues,” Graham said in a statement on social media. “He was able to have meetings and appear at some of the Vatican’s Holy Week observances in just the last couple of days,” added Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham.
“I had the opportunity to meet and talk with him last year when I went to Naples to preach. Pray for the Catholic Church as they begin the process of selecting the next pope.”
Graham included a photo of himself shaking hands with the pontiff as part of his post.
Other Christian leaders, including Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, also offered condolences. “Pope Francis served Christ’s church with wisdom, courage, and humility,” she stated. “Throughout his pastoral ministry, he served as an instrument of God’s justice and peace for all people and the whole of creation.”
Reverend Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and an Evangelical public relations executive, urged Evangelicals to “pray for the Catholic Church as they mourn the passing of Pope Francis and prepare to select his successor.”
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Moore said he participated in the late pope’s pilgrimages to the United Arab Emirates, reportedly the first time a pontiff had ever visited the Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, also noticed that
“We mourn the passing of Pope Francis, a visionary leader of faith and a tireless advocate for the marginalized,” tweeted Rodriguez.
In 2016, Rodriquez and the late pope gave speeches at the Together 2016 Evangelical event in Washington, D.C.
Rodriquez added, “His life was a testament to hope — the hope that the Church can shine as a beacon of light in a darkening world. Now, more than ever, that message is needed, and today, we have lost one of its most steadfast champions.”
Several Christian leaders had similar messages as they remembered the passing of the pontiff of some 1 billion Catholics at age 88.
The Vatican said Pope Francis had gone “in the arms of the Father.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House meeting last week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was “civil but difficult,” according to multiple U.S. officials cited by Channel 12 and Axios, with tensions flaring behind closed doors over the pace of Saudi–Israel normalization.
The U.S. Space Force has quietly awarded roughly half a dozen “Golden Dome” contracts to build competing space-based missile-defense prototypes, kicking off an industry race for future production deals worth tens of billions of dollars, according to multiple sources briefed on the awards.
The Trump administration late on Nov. 25 filed a notice of appeal challenging a federal district court ruling that ordered the government to halt its months-long deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
The Trump administration on Monday escalated its pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, formally designating the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization—a move that adds new terrorism-based sanctions and intensifies concerns of potential U.S. military action.
Israel announced a major expansion of its air-defense production last Thursday, accelerating manufacturing of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the emerging Iron Beam laser system amid warnings that two years of nonstop conflict have strained the country’s defensive readiness.
Crime-ridden Chicago on Monday faced the prospect of a bleak Christmas after shootings rocked the heart of this U.S. city, killing one person and injuring at least eight others, authorities said.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to review recent remarks by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) after the retired Navy captain appeared in a video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders,” a message the Trump administration has denounced as dangerous and politically motivated.