Msgr. Roger Landry
Coverage of the Funeral of Pope Francis and the Election of His Successor
EWTN and other outlets
April 21 to May 18, 2025
Over the course of nearly four weeks, I was in Rome principally to participate in EWTN’s coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis, the interregnum and general congregations (meetings) of the College of Cardinals, the papal conclave and election of Pope Leo XIV and then the first days and Mass of Initiation of the Petrine Ministry of the new Holy Father. Below is a day-by-day chronicle of all of the coverage. I also attach the 60-90 second daily videos I did for The Pontifical Mission Societies (my real job!) as well as some other media as I was able to locate the interviews and post them.
This was the May 18 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was our May 18 coverage of the Mass for the Initiation of the Petrine Ministry by Pope Leo XIV. It was preceded by a one-hour session explaining the symbols to be used in the Mass and followed by a conversation with EWTN CEO and President Michael Warsaw about the significance of Pope Leo’s American roots as well as about the coverage of the last four weeks on the papal funeral, interregnum, conclave, election and Mass of initiation.
This was our May 17 special in which we welcomed Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller and Rody Sher to the program and looked ahead to Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass.
This was the May 17 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the May 16 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was our May 15 coverage in which we welcomed Fr. Michael Baggot, a professor at two Roman universities, to speak to us about Pope Leo’s focus on artificial intelligence. We likewise covered the news of the day as well as every pope’s efforts to promote and defend marriage and the family on the Memorial of St. Isidore and the World Day of the Family.
This was the May 15 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was our May 14 coverage in which we welcomed Archbishop Boris Gudziak of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia and Daniel Arasa, Dean of the School of Church Communications at Santa Croce University in Rome. We also covered the news of the day regarding Pope Leo and covered the gift of apostolic succession on the Feast of St. Matthias.
This was the May 14 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was our May 13 coverage in which we welcomed Mother Anna Grace Neenan, OP, Superior General of the Dominicans of St. Cecilia (Nashville Dominicans) and President of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. We discussed the news of the day and the possible ways by which Pope Leo will impact women’s and men’s religious life.
This is the recording done for The Pontifical Mission Societies for May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and its significance for the Holy Father.
This was our program on May 12, in which we covered Pope Leo’s meeting with journalists as well as the first five days of his pontificate. We also showed interviews with Cardinals Fernando Filoni and Michael Czerny and welcomed AC Wimmer on the program.
This was the May 12 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies after the audience for journalists with Pope Leo XVI.
This was the May 11 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies after Pope Leo XVI’s first Regina Caeli.
This was the first Regina Caeli of Pope Leo XIV on May 11. Prior, we spoke about what Pope Leo did yesterday as well as what the Regina Caeli is. After, we hosted Teresa Tomeo.
On May 10, Ines San Martin (Vice President of Communications for The Pontifical Missions USA) and I did an interactive question-and-answer program from the Vatican, taking the questions of those who have signed up for TPMS’ Journey with the Pope as well as daily updates from me from Rome. This is a link to that session in which we gave first impressions of Pope Leo, spoke about his background as a missionary, and took the questions given by several hundred viewers.
On May 10, I recorded a 50 minute podcast with Lauren Green, Fox News’ Religion Correspondent on the significance of Pope Francis’ election for Americans and various other topics.
This was the short video for the Pontifical Mission Societies I recorded on May 10.
This was the May 9 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage of the first Mass of the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel with the Cardinals who elected him as well as those Cardinals over 80. It was Pope Leo’s powerful first homily, in English and Italian. Prior to the Mass, we welcomed Courtney Mares onto the program and discussed various of the attributes of the new Holy Father since his appearance on the balcony the previous night.
This was the May 8 coverage of the historic announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s election as the 267th Peter, from the white smoke, to his first remarks, to his first Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) Blessing, to first reactions. (Avoid the mislabel of the video for May 9!).
This is a different link to the coverage of the announcement of Pope Leo XIV.
This was the coverage of the beginning of the second session of voting on May 8.
This was the coverage concluding the morning session of the second day of Conclave voting on May 8.
This was the introduction to the coverage on the second day of the conclave, May 8, in the morning session.
This was the May 8 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage of the lead up to the first vote of the College of Cardinals as we waited for the smoke on May 7. We had a chance to speak about many of the cardinals considered “papabile” or capable of being elected Pope.
This was the May 7 coverage of the Cardinals’ entering the Sistine Chapel for the beginning of the Conclave.
This was the May 7 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage of the Mass for the Election of a new Roman Pontiff on May 7.
This was the nightly coverage on the vigil of the Conclave, May 6. We discussed the news of the last of the General Congregations, Canadian Cardinals, how the Conclave will work, and how prayerfully to share in the work of the Church during these days.
This was my appearance on EWTN News Nightly on May 6, the vigil of the Conclave, in which I talked about what the daily schedule will be for the Cardinals during the Conclave, what to expect from the Mass for the Election of the Pope, and what times to be alert for smoke from inside the Sistine Chapel each day.
This was the nightly coverage on May 5. We discussed the news of the day, the preparations for the Conclave, the main persons in the conclave, and the Italian Cardinals.
This was the May 5 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the ninth and last Novemdiales Mass on May 4, celebrated by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we spoke about the American cardinals, about the Cardinal’s Titular churches, about President Trump’s tweeted image dressed as a Pope, and welcomed Ashley McGuire onto the program. After Mass, we discussed Cardinal Mamberti’s homily.
This was the May 4 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the May 3 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we spoke about news from the Vatican today about the General Congregations, about preparations for the conclave, and about Cardinals from the Asia and Oceania. After Mass, we discussed Cardinal Fernandez Artime’s homily.
This was the May 3 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the May 2 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we spoke with EWTN CEO and Chairman Michael Warsaw about EWTN’s coverage of this and prior conclaves, his experiences with the popes and the new evangelization. After Mass, we discussed Cardinal Gugerotti’s impressive homily.
This was an interview done with EWTN News in Depth on May 2 with Catherine Hadro in which we covered the subject of the day-to-day life of the Cardinals preparing for the election, about the predictions and preferences for the next pope inundating social media as well as Cardinal Dolan’s comments about the profile he’d like to see in the next pontiff.
This was the May 2 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the May 1 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we spoke about the news of the day, the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker and Pope Francis’ promotion of devotion to St. Joseph and about the situation of Christians in the Middle East and the Cardinal electors from the region. After Mass, we discussed Cardinal Fernandez’s homily, his words about Pope Francis’ work ethic and his summons for the Roman curia likewise to be hard workers.
This was the May 1 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the April 30 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we spoke about the news of the day and the Church, the memorial of Pope St. Pius V and cardinals from Africa. After the Mass, we spoke about Cardinal Sandri’s excellent homily.
This was the April 30 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage for the April 29 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we welcomed Joan Lewis to join us and share stories about past conclaves and Jubilees. After Mass, we looked at the block of non-Italian western European cardinals.
This was the April 29 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage of the April 28 Novemdiales Mass celebrated by Cardinal Baldassare Reina in the Basilica of St. Peter. Prior to the Mass, we welcomed Ward Fitzgerald of the Papal Foundation on the program and discussed, among other things, the news that the Conclave would begin May 7. After the Mass, we discussed the cardinals from Eastern Europe.
This was the April 28 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage of the April 27 solemn Vespers at St. Mary Major in the presence of the tomb of Pope Francis, celebrated by Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor Archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica.
This was the coverage of the April 27 Mass, the second day of the nine days of prayer for Pope Francis (novemdiales), which was the Jubilee for Teens within the Jubilee of Hope and Divine Mercy Sunday. This is the coverage of the preparation for the Mass, of the Mass itself, and of the follow-up to the Mass.
This was the April 26 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This is the coverage of Pope Francis’ funeral Mass in which I was privileged to do the translation and “play-by-play.” It was preceded by an hour’s preparation and concluded by following the procession of the Pope’s mortal remains to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
This was a video prepared in advance of Pope Francis’ eventual death in which I spoke about Pope Francis’ having founded the Missionaries of Mercy, his care for those on the existential peripheries and his “hacer lío” ecclesiology, in which he wasn’t afraid to “make a mess” and call others in the Church to do so.
This was the coverage of the evening program on April 25, 2025, in which we spoke about the closing of Pope Francis’ casket, interviews with Cardinal Christophe Pierre and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and the visit of Pope Francis to the United States in 2015.
This was the April 25 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was coverage from the evening program on April 24, 2025, during which we covered the latest news, the Jubilee of Hope, and various of the criticisms that have been made of various of Pope Francis’ decisions over the 12 years of his papacy.
This was the April 24 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the coverage from the evening program on April 23, 2025, in which we discussed the teachings of Pope Francis throughout his pontificate.
This was the coverage of the translation of Pope Francis’ remains from the Domus Sanctae Marthae to St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of April 23, 2025
This was the April 23 video recorded for The Pontifical Mission Societies.
This was the beginning of EWTN’s onsite coverage of the events leading up to the funeral of Pope Francis, recorded on April 22, 2025
This was the second appearance on Newsmax the morning Pope Francis died.
This was the first appearance on Newsmax on April 21, 2025, the morning Pope Francis died.
