Most Reverend Monsignor Giorgio Chezza
Rev. Fr. Zaccheusz

There are many feelings that accompany us in remembering Pope Francis, and in praying for his soul. We feel the sadness, the pain of loss, we feel the pain of his death, and at the same time we have our hearts full of gratitude to God because He gave him to us. We remember him with his love for the Church, his faithfulness and radicality in living and witnessing the Gospel. He taught us, he urged us to be consistent, in serving… in having attention for the poorest and the marginalized.

The Lord God also taught us something in the death of Pope Francis.  He died on Easter Monday, which we call “Monday of the Angel”… indicating, as he liked so much, the Master, the Lamb of God… the Source of Hope.

We cannot forget the “Urbi et Orbi” Easter Blessing, last Sunday with the announcement to all that Christ has conquered death.

So that despite his suffering, his fragility, with great effort, he still showed us that we must have “hope”. In the Bull of Indiction of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis wrote: “Christian hope consists precisely in this: in the face of death, where everything seems to end, we receive the certainty that, thanks to Christ, to his grace, “life is not taken, but transformed”, forever” (Spes non confundit n. 20).

And we want to ask God to be able to have this joy, this hope that is greater than any contradiction, capable of illuminating our life and indicating the direction of our journey. Yes, brothers and sisters, perhaps for this reason, we walk in this hope. Just last Sunday, after giving the Easter blessing, Pope Francis wanted to cross the entire square of St. Peter to show his love for the people.

Finally, brothers and sisters, praying for a Pope who dies means loving the Church. And I would like to recall one of the precious teachings of Pope Francis: ‘to be a living Church, that loves, forgives, indeed that offers forgiveness.’ And he asked us to go out, not to wait for people, but to go and look for them, especially those who are far away or not considered … and to go to the geographical and existential peripheries, where there is human suffering … (we cannot forget the calls every day of Pope Francis to the Christians of Gaza. Even from the “Gemelli hospital in Rome” he still called the parish priest of Gaza, to support them … and also the constant calls to our Patriarch encouraging us to stay close to the poor, the weakest during the war … Yes, Pope Francis made us understand that the Word of God made Flesh, in the poor, in refugees, in immigrants were for him the sacrament of Jesus in the world; In this world governed by indifference, and so many injustices …

I conclude with the words of Pope Francis to Cyprus on his unforgettable trip to our island in 2021. In his homily in Cyprus he said: “Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus is also passing through the streets of Cyprus, hearing the cries of our blindness. He wants to touch our eyes and hearts and to lead us to the light, to give us spiritual rebirth and new strength”.

Rest in peace Pope Francis… we will treasure your life and your teachings…. Amen!