By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VATICAN CITY (Worthy News) – U.S. Evangelist Franklin Graham, who met Pope Francis last year, says the pontiff’s death has raised questions about where he and others will spend eternity.
“With the passing of the pope, many people may question where they will spend eternity. The truth is, religion cannot save you,” Graham stressed in a statement on social media.
“Attending church can’t save you. Salvation is not something you can earn, buy, or inherit. It is a free gift of God for those who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is a decision that every person has to make for themselves,” he added.
His remarks came after the body of the late Pope Francis was transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Wednesday to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday morning.
With tens of thousands of people already gathering in the area, the Vatican did not rule out extending hours “for the faithful who wish to pay their respects to the late Pope” which had been scheduled
Wednesday from 11 a.m. to midnight; on Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to midnight; and on Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. “
In the weeks before his death, Pope Francis clarified that people should remember him as a pastor serving Christ.
CONSOLING CERTAINTY
Jesus,” Francis wrote, “gives us a consoling certainty: death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning…because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life — is beginning something that will never end.”
And, “It is precisely for this reason that it is a “new” beginning because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity,” he added.
Graham suggested that following Pope Francis’s death at age 88, it is crucial to remember that only faith in Jesus Christ is the way to Heaven.
“There aren’t many ways to Heaven, there is only one—by repenting of our sins and believing on Jesus Christ. Jesus came to this earth to save us from our sins. He shed His blood on a cross, died, was buried, and God raised Him to life on the third day. He’s alive today, and the Bible tells us one day He will return,” Graham stressed.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’,” the evangelist added referring to John 14:6.
Franklin Graham, son of the legendary late Evangelist Billy Graham, stressed that “Every person has a soul that will live forever-either in the presence of God, or separated from God in a place the Bible calls Hell. Where you spend eternity depends on whether you have put your trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Pope, pastor, politician, or peasant- the way to God is the same.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed sorrow and ordered an immediate investigation after a fire erupted early Wednesday at a nursery for newborns in a major government hospital in Pakistan’s capital, killing more than a dozen babies.
The U.S. Supreme Court is again being asked to step into the national fight over whether states may require the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms, as new challenges from Louisiana and Texas push the issue toward a potentially major First Amendment showdown.
A U.S. foreign-aid watchdog has referred more than 100 current and former UNRWA employees for possible suspension or debarment after finding evidence tying them to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel and/or affiliation with Hamas’s military wing.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday declaring a national emergency aimed at protecting the U.S. bulk-power system from foreign-made equipment that the White House says could expose America’s electric grid to cyber intrusion, sabotage, or supply-chain disruption.
A monk has been killed, and two other people seriously wounded after unidentified assailants attacked residents of one of Ukraine’s best-known Orthodox monasteries in the war-torn Donetsk region, church officials said.
Hungary’s new government has asked prosecutors to investigate suspected fraud and financial misconduct surrounding the previous administration’s purchase of nearly 17,000 Chinese ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic, while dozens of senior diplomats are being removed from their posts.
Ukraine has dramatically widened drone attacks deep inside Russia, striking military aircraft, vessels, energy facilities and warehouses, while Russian troops edged closer to the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk amid reports that Moscow could mobilize hundreds of thousands of additional soldiers.