At his funeral, Pope Francis was remembered and commemorated as a pontiff with “energy and serenity” who modeled his hold forth on St. Francis of Assisi. The dean of the School of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, delivered the homily in entrance of some 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Sq..
Listed here are the remarks translated into English:
On this majestic Saint Peter’s Sq., the place Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many instances and presided over nice gatherings over the previous twelve years, we’re gathered with unhappy hearts in prayer round his mortal stays.
But, we’re sustained by the understanding of religion, which assures us that human existence doesn’t finish within the tomb, however within the Father’s home, in a lifetime of happiness that can know no finish.
On behalf of the School of Cardinals, I cordially thank all of you on your presence. With deep emotion, I prolong respectful greetings and heartfelt due to the Heads of State, Heads of Authorities and Official Delegations who’ve come from many international locations to precise their affection, veneration and esteem for our late Holy Father.
The outpouring of affection that now we have witnessed in latest days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how a lot the profound hold forth of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts.
The ultimate picture now we have of him, which can stay etched in our reminiscence, is that of final Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, regardless of his critical well being issues, needed to offer us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then got here all the way down to this Sq. to greet the big crowd gathered for the Easter Mass whereas using within the open-top Popemobile.
With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he might grant him everlasting happiness within the brilliant and superb gaze of his immense love.
We’re enlightened and guided by the passage of the Gospel, during which the very voice of Christ resounded, asking the primary of the Apostles: “Peter, do you like me greater than these?” Peter’s reply was immediate and honest: “Lord, you understand every little thing; you understand that I like you!” Jesus then entrusted him with the nice mission: “Feed my sheep.”
This would be the fixed process of Peter and his successors, a service of affection within the footsteps of Christ, our Grasp and Lord, who “got here to not be served however to serve, and to offer his life a ransom for a lot of” (Mk 10:45).
Regardless of his frailty and struggling in the direction of the top, Pope Francis selected to comply with this path of self-giving till the final day of his earthly life. He adopted within the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who liked his sheep to the purpose of giving his life for them.
And he did so with energy and serenity, near his flock, the Church of God, conscious of the phrases of Jesus quoted by the Apostle Paul: “It’s extra blessed to offer than to obtain” (Acts 20:35).
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Conclave on 13 March 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he already had a few years of expertise in spiritual life within the Society of Jesus and, above all, was enriched by twenty-one years of pastoral ministry within the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as Auxiliary, then as Coadjutor and, above all, as Archbishop.
The choice to take the title Francis instantly appeared to point the pastoral plan and magnificence on which he needed to base his hold forth, looking for inspiration from the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.He maintained his temperament and type of pastoral management, and thru his resolute character, instantly made his mark on the governance of the Church. He established direct contact with people and peoples, desperate to be near everybody, with a marked consideration to these in issue, giving himself with out measure, particularly to the marginalized, the least amongst us.
He was a Pope among the many folks, with an open coronary heart in the direction of everybody. He was additionally a Pope attentive to the indicators of the instances and what the Holy Spirit was awakening within the Church.
Together with his attribute vocabulary and language, wealthy in photos and metaphors, he at all times sought to make clear the issues of our time with the knowledge of the Gospel. He did so by providing a response guided by the sunshine of religion and inspiring us to dwell as Christians amid the challenges and contradictions in recent times, which he liked to explain as an “epochal change.”
He had nice spontaneity and an off-the-cuff manner of addressing everybody, even these removed from the Church.
Wealthy in human heat and deeply delicate to at present’s challenges, Pope Francis really shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalization. He gave of himself by comforting and inspiring us with a message able to reaching folks’s hearts in a direct and rapid manner.
His charisma of welcome and listening, mixed with a fashion of conduct in line with at present’s sensitivities, touched hearts and sought to reawaken ethical and religious sensibilities.
Evangelization was the guideline of his hold forth. With a transparent missionary imaginative and prescient, he unfold the enjoyment of the Gospel, which was the title of his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium. It’s a pleasure that fills the hearts of all those that entrust themselves to God with confidence and hope.
The guiding thread of his mission was additionally the conviction that the Church is a house for all, a house with its doorways at all times open. He usually used the picture of the Church as a “discipline hospital” after a battle during which many have been wounded; a Church decided to handle the issues of individuals and the nice anxieties that tear the up to date world aside; a Church able to bending down to each particular person, no matter their beliefs or situation, and therapeutic their wounds.
His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced individuals are numerous. His insistence on engaged on behalf of the poor was fixed.
It’s vital that Pope Francis’ first journey was to Lampedusa, an island that symbolizes the tragedy of emigration, with hundreds of individuals drowning at sea. In the identical vein was his journey to Lesbos, along with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Athens, in addition to the celebration of a Mass on the border between Mexico and america throughout his journey to Mexico.
Of his 47 arduous Apostolic Journeys, the one to Iraq in 2021, defying each threat, will stay significantly memorable. That troublesome Apostolic Journey was a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi folks, who had suffered a lot from the inhuman actions of ISIS. It was additionally an essential journey for interreligious dialogue, one other vital dimension of his pastoral work.
Together with his 2024 Apostolic Journey to 4 international locations in Asia-Oceania, the Pope reached “essentially the most peripheral periphery of the world.”
Pope Francis at all times positioned the Gospel of mercy on the centre, repeatedly emphasizing that God by no means tires of forgiving us. He at all times forgives, regardless of the scenario may be of the one that asks for forgiveness and returns to the appropriate path.
He referred to as for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy with a purpose to spotlight that mercy is “the guts of the Gospel.”
Mercy and the enjoyment of the Gospel are two key phrases for Pope Francis.
In distinction to what he referred to as “the tradition of waste,” he spoke of the tradition of encounter and solidarity. The theme of fraternity ran via his whole hold forth with vibrant tones.
In his Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, he needed to revive a worldwide aspiration to fraternity, as a result of we’re all youngsters of the identical Father who’s in heaven. He usually forcefully reminded us that all of us belong to the identical human household.
In 2019, throughout his journey to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis signed A Doc on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Dwelling Collectively, recalling the frequent fatherhood of God.
Addressing women and men all through the world, in his Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ he drew consideration to our duties and shared accountability for our frequent dwelling, stating, “Nobody is saved alone.”
Confronted with the raging wars of latest years, with their inhuman horrors and numerous deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for motive and sincere negotiation to seek out potential options. Warfare, he mentioned, leads to the dying of individuals and the destruction of properties, hospitals and colleges. Warfare at all times leaves the world worse than it was earlier than: it’s at all times a painful and tragic defeat for everybody. “Construct bridges, not partitions” was an exhortation he repeated many instances, and his service of religion as Successor of the Apostle Peter at all times was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions.
Spiritually united with all of Christianity, we’re right here in massive numbers to hope for Pope Francis, that God might welcome him into the immensity of his love. Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and conferences by saying, “Don’t forget to hope for me.”
Pricey Pope Francis, we now ask you to hope for us. Might you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the entire world from heaven as you probably did final Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a remaining embrace with all of the folks of God, but in addition embrace humanity that seeks the reality with a honest coronary heart and holds excessive the torch of hope.
