With deep sorrow and full confidence in the promise of the Resurrection, the Shalom Catholic Community unites itself with the pain of all who grieve at the passing of Pope Francis.
We are consoled by the conviction that the Holy Father was a powerful instrument of God’s love and mercy for all humanity. Under the mantle of Our Lady of Aparecida, we entrust in prayer the soul of our dear and beloved Pope Francis to the Father of Mercies. In the Eucharist — celebrated and adored — we join in hope and prayer with the entire Church, which in this moment of sorrow lifts its gaze to the One who has conquered death.
We express our gratitude for his authentic witness as a disciple of the Lord and a friend of the poor, who taught us to live, to welcome, and to freely give Mercy.
We offer our confident prayer for the Holy Father’s return to the Father’s House, in that face-to-face encounter with the One who sustained him in proclaiming the joy of the Gospel until his final day of life.
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the certainly unexpected passing of Pope Francis becomes, in a mysterious way, an occasion to bear witness once more to the foundation of our Hope: Jesus Christ, Risen from the dead.
United with the Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, we will live this time in gratitude and prayer.
