Navarrosa, who is currently writing his thesis on the pope’s 2016 encyclical 'Amoris Laetitia,' recalls meeting Francis in 2021 and says he had hoped to meet him again. “I’m not worried about the future of the church, because it is guided by the Holy Spirit,” he says.

Francis, who emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, died on Monday morning, the Vatican announced.