At 4:00pm this afternoon in Rome, the Commemoration of the all the faithful departed, the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrated Mass, for the first time, in the square in front of the ossuary at the Flaminio Cemetery (also known as the Primary Door Cemetery) on the northern outskirts of Rome, after which there was a prayer for the dead and the sprinkling of the graves with holy water.
The Cardinal Vicar for Rome, Agostino Vallini; as well as the Associate Director for the Diocese of Rome, Archbishop Filippo Iannone; the Auxiliary Bishop for the northern sector of the Diocese of Rome, His Excellency, Guerino Di Tora; and the Pastor of Saints Urban and Lorenzo parish located at the Primary Door, Father Zbigniew Golebiewski, O.S.P.P.E. concelebrated the Mass along with the Holy Father.
Following the proclamation of the gospel, the Pope shared a brief impromptu homily.
Job was in the dark. He was at the very door of death. And in that moment of anguish, of pain and of suffering, Job proclaimed his hope: I know that my redeemer lives and that, on the last day, he will stand upon the earth! ... I will see him, I myself, my eyes will gaze on him and not another (Job 19:25, 27). The Commemoration of the dead has this double sense. A sense of sadness: a cemetery is sad, it recalls our beloved dead who have left us, it also recalls the future, death; but in this sadness, we bring flowers, as a sign of hope, and, we can say, of celebration, but later, not now. And sadness is mixed with hope. And this is what we are all feeling today, in this celebration: the memory of our loved ones, as we stand before their mortal remains, and their hope.
But we also feel that this hope helps us, because we too need to walk this path. We will all make this journey. Sooner or later, but all of us. With suffering, more or less suffering, but all of us. However, with the flower of hope, with strong ties that anchor us to that which is to come. This anchor does not disappoint, we are tied to the resurrection.
And the one who was first to make this journey was Jesus. We walk the path that he has walked before us. He himself has opened the door: with his cross he has opened the door of hope for us, he has opened the door for us to enter the place where we will contemplate God. I know that my Redeemer lives and that, on the last day, I will stand upon the earth ... I will see him, I myself. My eyes will gaze upon him and none other.
Let us return home today with this double memory: the memory of the past, of our beloved ones who have left us; and the memory of the future, of the journey that we are making. With the certainty, the surety; the certainty that comes from the lips of Jesus himself: I will raise him up on the last day (Jn 6:40).
At the conclusion of the celebration of the Mass in the Primary Door Cemetery, immediately upon re-entering the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis went to the Gotto beneath the Vatican Basilica to spend a moment in private prayer for the Supreme Pontiffs who are buried there and for all the deceased.
The Cardinal Vicar for Rome, Agostino Vallini; as well as the Associate Director for the Diocese of Rome, Archbishop Filippo Iannone; the Auxiliary Bishop for the northern sector of the Diocese of Rome, His Excellency, Guerino Di Tora; and the Pastor of Saints Urban and Lorenzo parish located at the Primary Door, Father Zbigniew Golebiewski, O.S.P.P.E. concelebrated the Mass along with the Holy Father.
Following the proclamation of the gospel, the Pope shared a brief impromptu homily.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Mass celebrated at the Flamino Cemetery
Job was in the dark. He was at the very door of death. And in that moment of anguish, of pain and of suffering, Job proclaimed his hope: I know that my redeemer lives and that, on the last day, he will stand upon the earth! ... I will see him, I myself, my eyes will gaze on him and not another (Job 19:25, 27). The Commemoration of the dead has this double sense. A sense of sadness: a cemetery is sad, it recalls our beloved dead who have left us, it also recalls the future, death; but in this sadness, we bring flowers, as a sign of hope, and, we can say, of celebration, but later, not now. And sadness is mixed with hope. And this is what we are all feeling today, in this celebration: the memory of our loved ones, as we stand before their mortal remains, and their hope.
But we also feel that this hope helps us, because we too need to walk this path. We will all make this journey. Sooner or later, but all of us. With suffering, more or less suffering, but all of us. However, with the flower of hope, with strong ties that anchor us to that which is to come. This anchor does not disappoint, we are tied to the resurrection.
And the one who was first to make this journey was Jesus. We walk the path that he has walked before us. He himself has opened the door: with his cross he has opened the door of hope for us, he has opened the door for us to enter the place where we will contemplate God. I know that my Redeemer lives and that, on the last day, I will stand upon the earth ... I will see him, I myself. My eyes will gaze upon him and none other.
Let us return home today with this double memory: the memory of the past, of our beloved ones who have left us; and the memory of the future, of the journey that we are making. With the certainty, the surety; the certainty that comes from the lips of Jesus himself: I will raise him up on the last day (Jn 6:40).
At the conclusion of the celebration of the Mass in the Primary Door Cemetery, immediately upon re-entering the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis went to the Gotto beneath the Vatican Basilica to spend a moment in private prayer for the Supreme Pontiffs who are buried there and for all the deceased.
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