April 2025
At this time as we mourn the death of Pope Francis and pray for his eternal rest we are also deeply grateful for his leadership of our Church.
All of us have seen in the Holy Father a man of simplicity, a man of prayer, a man of courage who was not afraid to speak the truth even when it was not popular. We know he was a man of deep compassion, who sought out those who were on the margins, whose heart was for the poor and needy. He recognised the importance of reaching out to those who had no voice in our societies, and he gave them respect and honoured their dignity as his brother or sister in Christ.
When he was elected and stood on the balcony and greeted the people with ‘Good evening’ we had a sense of a man of warmth and humanity. Over the following 12 years we had many opportunities to see this in action, to share in the fruit of his faith, to see the power of the Holy Spirit working through him as he led our Church. His encyclicals have focused on the love of God for his people and for the world he created. They now become part of our spiritual heritage and will continue to encourage and challenge us to be faithful to our calling as followers of Christ.
Cardinal Parolin at the Mass on the Second Sunday of Easter reminded the people that we aren’t just remembering a good man. He invited us all to take what Pope Francis lived and taught and make it our own, live with the same outlook and focus for our brothers and sisters and for the spread of the truth of the Gospel.
We have been graced by God with this man who was our Pope. We are deeply grateful for him and pray that he will be at peace and receive his eternal reward. We pray now for our Cardinals as they work to discern who will be the one to be called next to be the successor of Peter and the chief shepherd of our Catholic Church.