Pilgrims of Hope: Remembering Pope Francis in the Light of Easter

Pilgrims of Hope: Remembering Pope Francis in the Light of Easter

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

This week, as the Church throughout the world gathers with hearts full of both sorrow and Easter joy, we remember and give thanks for the life and ministry of Pope Francis, who has now passed into the loving embrace of the Risen Lord. It is fitting that we mourn him during this Easter season and, in this weekend in particular, on Divine Mercy Sunday — when the Church rejoices in the unfathomable mercy flowing from the Heart of Jesus.

 

Pope Francis had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion rooted in tenderness and trust. He often reminded us that “the Heart of Christ is not an idea or a sentiment, but the source of mercy and compassion that reaches us in our poverty and lifts us up.” For him, the Sacred Heart was not distant or abstract — it was close, wounded, and radiant with mercy.

 

And how fitting that his life of humble service ends in the most solemn feast of the Easter Octave, during the Jubilee Year he invited us to live as Pilgrims of Hope. In our own collaborative parishes, we took those words to heart this Lent, when his writings inspired our Lenten Mission. He encouraged us to walk in hope, not as tourists or consumers of faith, but as true pilgrims — those who journey with one another toward Christ, who is our hope.

 

Pope Francis showed us how to live that pilgrimage. He walked with the poor, listened to the forgotten, and reminded the powerful of their responsibility to care for the least among us. He challenged us to be a Church that goes out, that lives with the smell of the sheep, that embraces the wounds of the world with the mercy of God. His papacy was a living homily on the Beatitudes, and a tireless witness to the joy of the Gospel.

 

Now, in this Easter season, as we display his picture in our churches and lift his name in prayer during the Prayers of the Faithful, we do not mourn as those without hope. Like the disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, our eyes are opened in the breaking of the Bread. The mercy Pope Francis preached and lived is not extinguished — his concern for the poor and those who often feel ignored, his humility even as one in authority, and his courage to challenge complacency and the status quo will continue to bless the Church for years to come.

 

In the days leading up to this weekend (Apr. 23-25), the lay faithful, religious, and clergy of our Archdiocese are/were gathering for special evening Masses to pray for Pope Francis, celebrated with Archbishop Henning and his auxiliary bishops. Also, we will offer the 9:00am daily Mass this Monday, April 28, at St. Mary for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. These moments of communion remind us that the Church is not only universal but also deeply personal.