VATICAN CITY // Evangelization was the principle that motivated the pontificate of the late Holy Father, said the dean of the College of Cardinals in the homily for the funeral Mass for Pope Francis April 26.
“The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in St. Peter’s Square to the over two hundred thousand people present. A number of world leaders were in attendance, whom Cardinal Re thanked for expressing their appreciation and respect for Pope Francis.
“With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love,” Cardinal Re said.
The gospel for the funeral Mass was John 21:15-19, in which Jesus tells Peter to “Feed my sheep.”
“This,” Cardinal Re said, “will be the constant task of Peter and his successors, a service of love in the footsteps of Christ, our Master and Lord, who ‘came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’”
He said that though Pope Francis was frail and suffering immensely at the end of his life, he still gave of himself until his death. The pope’s last public appearance in St. Peter’s was Easter Sunday, when he made an unexpected visit to those present in the Square. Cardinal Re said the pope shepherded his flock at this time “with strength and serenity.”
The cardinal reflected on various aspects of Pope Francis’ character and pontificate, including the 47 Apostolic Journeys he made to countries around the world, his “spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone,” and his sensitivities to the challenges of the world.
“Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalisation,” he said. “He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.”
Cardinal Re described him also as a pope who had “an open heart towards everyone” and who was “attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.”
He also praised the pope’s efforts to spread the gospel, saying, “Evangelisation was the guiding principle of his pontificate” and that he was especially motivated by “the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open.”
The cardinal said the pope’s 2021 Apostolic journey to Iraq was an especially moving example among his personal international outreach efforts. He said the visit, which was especially dangerous for the Holy Father, “was a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi people, who had suffered so much from the inhuman actions of ISIS. It was also an important trip for interreligious dialogue, another significant dimension of his pastoral work.”
Pope Francis also spoke out on behalf of refugees and the poor, and denounced the “culture of waste,” instead advocating for “the culture of encounter and solidarity,” Cardinal Re later said. He added that in later years of his pontificate, Pope Francis increasingly called for peace and the end of wars.
At the end of the homily, Cardinal Re said: “Spiritually united with all of Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, that God may welcome him into the immensity of his love. Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, ‘Do not forget to pray for me.’
“Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us,” Cardinal Re concluded. “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 in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
The full text of the homily is available here.
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