‘We deeply regret that Pope Francis has left us; it is an enormous loss for the entire Church’, these were the words of the UCAM president, María Dolores García, on hearing the news of the death of the Holy Father. The University has been closely linked to Pope Francis during his pontificate, and even its founder, José Luis Mendoza, and his wife, already maintained a close relationship with him before he was elected Pope, coinciding on several occasions during the meetings of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

On this occasion, a UCAM delegation of 15 people, including members of the Governing Council and the Board of Trustees of the San Antonio Foundation, travelled to Rome to take part in the religious ceremonies organised to commemorate the death of Pope Francis. Representatives of the University attended the funeral mass celebrated in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, thus joining in the expressions of affection and gratitude from all over the world to the man who has guided the Catholic Church for more than a decade.

As a testimony of faith and recognition of the figure of the Holy Father, the University will celebrate a Mass of Suffrage for the Repose of his Soul on Wednesday 30 April at 11am in the church of the Monastery of Los Jerónimos.

UCAM would like to invite the whole academic community to join in this ceremony to pray for the soul of His Holiness, in an act that will symbolise the University's communion with the Catholic Church and its commitment to the Christian values on which its identity is based.