At 3:35pm this afternoon (9:35am EDT), the Commemoration of all the faithful departed, the Holy Father, Pope Francis went the Laurentino cemetery in Rome to celebrate Mass.
On the way, Pope Francis made a brief stop in the area of the cemetery where children are buried and after having paused in prayer for a few moments, he placed white floral wreaths on some of the children's tombs.
Immediately afterwards, in front of the church of the Risen Jesus, which is situated inside the cemetery, the Pope was welcomed by the Vicar of Rome, His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis; the Auxiliary Bishop for the Southern part of Rome, His Excellency, Paolo Lojudice; the Chaplain of the church of the Risen Jesus, Monsignor Claudio Palma; and the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi.
At 4:00pm local time (10:00am EDT), the Eucharistic celebration took place in front of the Chapel dedicated to the Risen Jesus.
Today's liturgy is realistic, concrete. It is part of the three dimensions of life, dimensions that even children understand: the past, the future and the present.
Today is a day of remembering the past, a day to remember those who walked before us, who also accompanied us, gave us life. Remember, remember. Memory is what makes a people strong, because they feel rooted in a journey, rooted in a history, rooted in a people. Memory makes us understand that we are not alone, we are a people: a people that has a history, that has a past, that has life. Memories of many who have shared a journey with us, and I am here (he points out the tombs around him). It is not easy to remember. Many times, we struggle to go back to the thought of what has happened in my life, in my family, in my people ... But today is a day of memory, the memory that takes us to the roots: to my roots, to roots of my people.
And today is also a day of hope: the second reading helps us to see what awaits us. A new heaven, a new earth and the holy city of Jerusalem, a new city. Beautiful is this image which she uses to make us understand what awaits us: I saw her come down from heaven, come down from God, ready as a bride adorned for her husband (cf Rev 21:2). Beauty awaits us ... Memory and hope, hope to meet others, hope to reach the place where the Love that created us currently exists, where there is Love waiting for us: the love of the Father.
And between memory and hope there is the third dimension, that of the road we have to travel and which we are travelling. And how can we make this journey without making mistakes? What are the lights that will help us not to make a mistake? What is the navigator that God himself has given us, so as not to make mistakes? They are the Beatitudes that Jesus taught us in the Gospel. These Beatitudes - meekness, poverty of spirit, justice, mercy, purity of heart - are the lights that accompany us so as not to make a mistake: this is our present moment.
In this cemetery there are the three dimensions of life: memory, we can see it there (he points to the tombs); hope, we will celebrate it now in faith, not in vision; and the lights to guide us on our journey so we will not make a mistake, we have heard them in the Gospel: they are the Beatitudes.
Today we ask the Lord to give us the grace to never lose our memory, never to hide our memory - our memory of a person, our family memories, our memory of a people -; and we ask him to give us the grace of hope, because hope is a gift of his: to know how to hope, to look to the horizon, not to remain closed in front of a wall. Always look to the horizon and look for hope. And we ask our Lord to give us the grace to understand which are the lights that will accompany us on the road so as not to make mistakes, and to get to where they are waiting for us with so much love.
At the conclusion of the Mass celebrated at the Laurentino cemetery, upon his return to the Vatican, the Holy Father went to the grottos located below the Vatican Basilica where he spent some time in private prayer for the deceased Pontiffs.
On the way, Pope Francis made a brief stop in the area of the cemetery where children are buried and after having paused in prayer for a few moments, he placed white floral wreaths on some of the children's tombs.
Immediately afterwards, in front of the church of the Risen Jesus, which is situated inside the cemetery, the Pope was welcomed by the Vicar of Rome, His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis; the Auxiliary Bishop for the Southern part of Rome, His Excellency, Paolo Lojudice; the Chaplain of the church of the Risen Jesus, Monsignor Claudio Palma; and the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi.
At 4:00pm local time (10:00am EDT), the Eucharistic celebration took place in front of the Chapel dedicated to the Risen Jesus.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Mass celebrated at the Laurentino cemetery
Today's liturgy is realistic, concrete. It is part of the three dimensions of life, dimensions that even children understand: the past, the future and the present.
Today is a day of remembering the past, a day to remember those who walked before us, who also accompanied us, gave us life. Remember, remember. Memory is what makes a people strong, because they feel rooted in a journey, rooted in a history, rooted in a people. Memory makes us understand that we are not alone, we are a people: a people that has a history, that has a past, that has life. Memories of many who have shared a journey with us, and I am here (he points out the tombs around him). It is not easy to remember. Many times, we struggle to go back to the thought of what has happened in my life, in my family, in my people ... But today is a day of memory, the memory that takes us to the roots: to my roots, to roots of my people.
And today is also a day of hope: the second reading helps us to see what awaits us. A new heaven, a new earth and the holy city of Jerusalem, a new city. Beautiful is this image which she uses to make us understand what awaits us: I saw her come down from heaven, come down from God, ready as a bride adorned for her husband (cf Rev 21:2). Beauty awaits us ... Memory and hope, hope to meet others, hope to reach the place where the Love that created us currently exists, where there is Love waiting for us: the love of the Father.
And between memory and hope there is the third dimension, that of the road we have to travel and which we are travelling. And how can we make this journey without making mistakes? What are the lights that will help us not to make a mistake? What is the navigator that God himself has given us, so as not to make mistakes? They are the Beatitudes that Jesus taught us in the Gospel. These Beatitudes - meekness, poverty of spirit, justice, mercy, purity of heart - are the lights that accompany us so as not to make a mistake: this is our present moment.
In this cemetery there are the three dimensions of life: memory, we can see it there (he points to the tombs); hope, we will celebrate it now in faith, not in vision; and the lights to guide us on our journey so we will not make a mistake, we have heard them in the Gospel: they are the Beatitudes.
Today we ask the Lord to give us the grace to never lose our memory, never to hide our memory - our memory of a person, our family memories, our memory of a people -; and we ask him to give us the grace of hope, because hope is a gift of his: to know how to hope, to look to the horizon, not to remain closed in front of a wall. Always look to the horizon and look for hope. And we ask our Lord to give us the grace to understand which are the lights that will accompany us on the road so as not to make mistakes, and to get to where they are waiting for us with so much love.
At the conclusion of the Mass celebrated at the Laurentino cemetery, upon his return to the Vatican, the Holy Father went to the grottos located below the Vatican Basilica where he spent some time in private prayer for the deceased Pontiffs.
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