The team from ACM do Rio Grande do Sul (YMCA-RS) had the honour of being received by His Holiness, Pope Francis, at the Vatican in April 2024
On the eve of his 26 April 2025 funeral, the worldwide YMCA Movement mourns the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. We thank God for his life and extraordinary leadership, and for his shining example – which the YMCA seeks to follow – that all human beings are equal, and all are equally precious.
As he led the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, he embraced all Christians, and people of all faiths and none. He loved young people, he loved the poor, the weak, the marginalised, the vulnerable: all people that we in the YMCA seek to serve.
As our hearts go out to all who mourn him, so they rejoice in his legacy of love and service. We remember his passionate pleas for peace in conflict situations; his fearless championing of migrants and protest against what he called the ‘globalisation of indifference’; his acceptance of all. ‘Who am I to judge?’, he famously said. His only purpose was to serve.
YMCA has always treasured its relationship with the Holy See, and with church leaders worldwide. As we shared here on the day of his passing, we recall the day in Rome – almost exactly a year ago – when the Holy Father received YMCA Change Agents and their colleagues from ACM do Rio Grande do Sul. They presented him with a handmade crystal, symbolising the fragility of life, hope and the YMCA’s care for young people. He blessed it – a gesture that now holds even deeper meaning.
Humanity in turn has been blessed by his life, and the YMCA stands with all who mourn, and all who celebrate the witness of this great man, and the eternal inheritance of this great champion of inclusion. Â
Soheila Hayek, World YMCA President
Carlos Sanvee, World YMCA Secretary General