Last Easter Sunday, we prayed for Pope Francis – there was a quiet joy when he appeared for the Easter Blessing. Little did we know that it was his final farewell as the Bishop of Rome.
Last week, we laid the People’s Pope to rest in a simple ceremony which Francis himself had planned.
Cardinal Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals, got to the heart of Francis the man and Francis the Pope during his succinct homily.
The great and the good attending the funeral heard how Francis touched the minds and hearts of the faithful.
He chose a simple coffin; he was buried in a church in a poorer part of Rome outside the Vatican. He invited the homeless and the marginalised to be the congregation at his burial.
On Easter Sunday, he followed the path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life. He greeted and blessed the people gathered in St Peter’s Square. It was his fond farewell to the people he loved.
In 47 Papal tours, Francis visited 65 countries, bringing hope and the Gospel of Good News to the least, the lost and the lonely.
Cardinal Re highlighted that Francis was, most of all, a pastor. He was close to the ordinary faithful, like a good shepherd remains close to his sheep. He “gave himself without measure, especially to the marginalised”.
Francis lived and preached the Gospel of mercy. “Mercy and joy of the Gospel are two key words for Pope Francis,” Cardinal Re said.
He was dedicated to bringing peace where war and death prevailed. The Pope’s favourite exhortation was “Build bridges, not walls.”
Ironically, an abiding picture of the funeral service will be Trump and Zelensky’s meeting in the magnificent surroundings of the Vatican. Hopefully, lasting peace in Ukraine will begin because of that meeting.
At that final message on Easter Sunday, he asked: “How much violence do we see, within families, directed at women and children? How much contempt there is for the vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants?”
It was said among his Jesuit community that Francis could answer many questions, but his great gift was to question many answers.
From the beginning, Francis was different. The name he chose explained a lot. He was the first Pope to take the name Francis, after St Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis lived a simple life, respected God’s creation and gave up everything worldly after he heard God’s call to “rebuild my Church.”
At first, St Francis took the message literally and began restoring a ruined building. He soon realised the call was to reform and rebuild the institutional Church rather than a building. That became Pope Francis’s calling, too. As soon as he was elected, he asked people to pray for him and to bless him.
He moved out of the Vatican building and lived in a guest house, where he was close to ordinary people. He dropped the trappings of the papacy to become a servant of his flock.
His first act was to visit a group of homeless migrants who were washed up on a beach in Lampedusa.
The funeral service highlighted how Francis became the voice of the voiceless. He spoke out on behalf of Gaza and the Palestinians.
There is a small group of Christians who, with their priests, are trapped in Gaza. He phoned their priest almost every night to assure them of his prayers – he did this even when he was seriously ill in the hospital.
More than any other leader, he reminded us of our duty to treasure creation.. We do not own this earth. God’s creation must be respected and preserved. Climate change is a moral issue for every person on Earth. We must stop the ruthless exploitation of the world’s resources.
Famously, he replied ‘Who am I to judge?’ when asked about the gay and lesbian communities.
Cardinal Battista Re ended his homily with the following words: “Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, ‘Do not forget to pray for me’….
We now ask Francis to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica…