In a 2019 homily, Pope Francis said: “The certainty of death is written in the Bible and in the Gospel, but the Lord always presents it to us as an encounter with Him and accompanies it with the word ‘hope’.”
As we now mourn the death of Pope Francis, we share in that great hope, of which he was so filled.
When Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope and took the name “Francis” on March 13, 2013, I heard the news while watching a college basketball game at Madison Square Garden. Little did I know that nearly 9 years later, he would appoint me as Bishop of Gaylord. It was the honor of a lifetime to meet this successor of Saint Peter and clasp hands in a fraternal and apostolic bond.
The impactful pontificate of Pope Francis has certainly, as he once famously said at a World Youth Day event, “left a mark” on the Church and the world. In the days ahead, let us take time to review his many writings and teachings, and count the blessings received from our Holy Father.
I want to encourage everyone in the Diocese of Gaylord to offer one ‘Our Father’, one ‘Hail Mary’, and one ‘Glory Be’ for his soul. I will be offering a Mass with the intention of the repose of the soul of Pope Francis on Thursday, April 24, at Noon at St. Mary Cathedral. I ask every priest to offer a Mass for our deceased Pope. In addition, in your goodness, please consider reciting a rosary for our Blessed Mother’s intercession.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. St. Peter, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. John Vianney… pray for him!
