Pope Leo XIV Honors Deceased Prelates as Heralds of Easter Hope
Pope Leo XIV presided over a Requiem Mass dedicated to the late Pope Francis, along with Cardinals and Bishops who passed away during the past year. He prayed for their souls, asking that “their souls might be washed from every stain” and that they “shine like stars in the sky.”
He expressed hope that “their spiritual encouragement might reach us, still pilgrims on earth, in the silence of prayer: ‘Hope in God: for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God.’”
“With great affection for the elect soul of Pope Francis, who died after opening the Holy Door and imparting the Easter Blessing to Rome and the whole world.”
The Jubilee Year, Pope Leo XIV noted, imparts this Mass “a distinctive flavour – the flavour of Christian hope.”
The Gospel Message of Emmaus
The Holy Father emphasized the Gospel story of the disciples of Emmaus, whose meeting with the Risen Christ illustrates “a vivid representation of the pilgrimage of hope.” This journey began with the experience of Jesus’ “violent death,” the kind endured by many innocent victims today. Such deaths are especially tragic and unsettling as they are “disfigured by sin.”
Reflection on Loss and Hope
Pope Leo XIV's Mass highlighted the faith and hope that sustain believers amidst sorrow, reminding the faithful that even in death, the promise of resurrection and renewal endures.