We Pray. O God, who in your wondrous providence chose your servant Pope Francis to preside over your Church, grant, we pray, that, having served as the Vicar of your Son on earth, he may be welcomed by him into eternal glory. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter | USCCB
The following is an excerpt from the statement of
Archbishop Hartmayer concerning the death of Pope Francis:
“We have lost a much-loved and respected spiritual father who took the name Francis, in honor of my own spiritual father, St. Francis of Assisi, to define his papacy. In the words of His Eminence, Kevin Cardinal Farrell, the Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, who announced the Holy Father’s death this morning: ‘He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.’
It is providential that Pope Francis died not only within the Easter Octave, but also in the Great Jubilee Year of Hope. Hope does not disappoint! In his homily for Easter Sunday, the Holy Father wrote: The Jubilee invites us to renew the gift of hope within us, to surrender our sufferings and our concerns to hope, to share it with those whom we meet along our journey and to entrust to hope the future of our lives and the destiny of the human family.”