Your generosity makes a difference! Every gift helps us spread hope, serve our community, and share God’s love with those in need. Thank you for being a part of this mission!
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today we have gathered to celebrate and remember not just a pope but a true shepherd, Pope Francis. Amid our sadness over his passing, we give thanks to God for the gift of his loving heart and his transforming ministry among us.
Francis was chosen and looked upon with love, like the tax collector who, touched by grace, rose and followed Jesus. In defining himself, he said with profound truth: “I am a sinner on whom the Lord has looked upon.”
His life and pontificate were a living extension of Christ’s love: a love that embraces, heals, and builds. For this reason, I would like to recall several important points about his person and legacy.
Francis’s life was a lived Gospel. He did not seek to be a pontiff of power, but a pastor of compassion. He made his ministry a continuous act of “mercy.” That is, a ministry that seeks to heal wounds, welcome everyone, and embrace life’s wounded. He was never afraid to raise his voice to remind us that we all share the gifts of God’s love and mercy, and that our faith must be translated into concrete actions of respect, solidarity, and care for others and for creation.
Francis did not impose reforms by mandate, but rather initiated processes of discernment, with a culture of dialogue and fraternal collaboration, knowing that the Holy Spirit guides the Church not in haste, but in patient listening.
In his spiritual testament, Francis requested that his remains rest not in the grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica, but next to Mary, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where he so often entrusted his travels and ministry. His tomb is simple, at ground level, with a single inscription: Franciscus. This is how he lived, this is how he wished to be remembered: small before God, trusting in mercy. Until his last breath, he offered his suffering for peace among peoples and universal brotherhood, following the example of the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep.
Francis dreamed—and invites us to continue dreaming—of a Church that is not a closed fortress, but a field hospital. A Church where the first priority is not to raise an accusing finger, but to open our arms like Christ on the cross. A Church that does not ask for credentials, but rather welcomes each person, as they are, with tenderness and patience. “In the Church, there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone,” Francis proclaimed in Lisbon during World Youth Day 2023. His dream was clear: a mother Church, not a customs office; a Church that serves as a bridge, not a wall; a Church that walks at the pace of the most fragile and wounded.
Dear Pope Francis, today we remember not only what you did, but the person you were: a witness to God’s freely given love, a humble servant, a sower of hope. Today, we ask you to intercede for this Church, which continues its pilgrimage on earth and which you loved so much. Intercede so that we may be disciples of Christ, courageous in mercy, to walk as pilgrims of hope, and to build together, as brothers and sisters, a more fraternal world.
With love and responsibility, we will keep in our hearts what you bequeathed to us in the Encyclical Evangelii Gaudium (3): “God never tires of forgiving, it is we who tire of asking his forgiveness.”
