The EoF Community honours and gives thanks for the life and calling of Pope Francis
source: EoF Press Office
Assisi, April 21, 2025 - The Economy of Francesco Foundation, together with its promoters – Mons. Domenico Sorrentino, Luigino Bruni, Francesca Di Maolo, and Fra Giampiero Gambaro – and the entire EoF community, expresses deep sorrow at the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. In silence and prayer, we unite with the young people of EoF across the world to express boundless gratitude for a life given to the very end in service of all—especially the least, the most fragile, the discarded, and the lonely.
It was on May 1st, 2019, that Pope Francis wrote:
«Dear friends, I am writing to invite you to an initiative I have greatly desired: an event that will allow me to meet those who today are training and beginning to study and practice a different economy—one that brings life and does not kill, includes and does not exclude, humanizes and does not dehumanize, cares for creation and does not plunder it. An event to help us meet one another, to be together, and to make a ‘pact’ to change today’s economy and give a soul to the economy of tomorrow».
Thousands of young people around the world responded to this invitation, taking his words and the trust he placed in them seriously:
«Dearest young people, I know that you are capable of listening with your hearts to the increasingly anguished cry of the Earth and of the poor who inhabit it, crying out for help and responsibility—for someone to truly respond and not look the other way».
Over these years, many projects, initiatives, and personal and collective journeys have come to life. Three international online events (2020, 2021, 2023) and one in-person gathering in Assisi in September 2022—with over a thousand young people and Pope Francis—have strengthened the sense of belonging and the deep roots of the EoF generation.
The most powerful moment was the signing of the Pact, which still represents a living commitment shared by thousands of young people around the globe: “We commit to spending our lives so that today’s and tomorrow’s economy may become an economy of the Gospel: an economy of peace and not of war, an economy that counters the proliferation of weapons, an economy that cares for creation and does not exploit it, an economy at the service of the person, especially the most fragile and vulnerable, an economy where care replaces rejection and indifference, an economy that leaves no one behind, that recognizes and protects dignified and secure work for all, an economy where finance is a friend to the real economy and to labor, an economy that safeguards cultures, the traditions of peoples, all living species, and the natural resources of the Earth.”
In these hours, the EoF community clings to the memory of the many words of guidance and encouragement Pope Francis gave on countless occasions. Among them, those he shared at the founding of the EoF Foundation echo especially strong today:
«Today I want to leave you with three words: be witnesses, do not be afraid, never tire of hoping. […] Courage, dear friends! Courage! If you are faithful to your vocation, your lives will flourish—you will have marvelous stories to tell your children and grandchildren. Believe me: it is worth spending your life to make the world a better place. Go forward! I am with you, I accompany you, and I bless you».
«With immense gratitude, we will always carry in our hearts and eyes his tireless commitment to social justice, care for creation, and the promotion of fraternity even in the field of economics,» –read the messages shared by many young people on social media these days. «His words of mercy and his gestures of love, peace, and care are a guide for each of us. Today is a time for sorrow, for prayer, and for silence. But it is also the time of a promise: yes, Pope Francis, we will continue to be builders and witnesses of an economy of life, of peace, and of friendship with the Earth. We will not be afraid if someone says it is impossible, and we will not tire of organizing and nurturing hope».
We join the prayer of the universal Church and renew our commitment, fully aware of the responsibility and the living legacy Pope Francis has entrusted to us: that the Economy of Francesco may grow, be strengthened, and reach the lives of more and more young people across the world.