Pope Francis dies at the age of 88The political world bids farewell to Pope Francis The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday, April 26th.The different institutions of the Church have expressed their condolences for the death of the Pope Francis unanimously calling for prayer and thanksgiving to God for the example of the Argentinean Pope.
Testimonials and thanks
"Our sorrow is accompanied by a moving gratitude for the tireless witness of faith that Pope Francis has shown to the world until his last day," thus says farewells Davide ProsperiPresident of the Fraternity of Communion and LiberationPope Francis also recalled the "great esteem and attention for our movement" shown by the Pope and his willingness to continue along the "path he has indicated to us, so that the movement may always be faithful to the gift of the Spirit in order to serve the glory of Christ.
The prelate of the Opus DeiFernando Ocáriz also wanted to highlight the example of the deceased pontiff who "encouraged us to accept and experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving us; and, on the other hand, to be merciful to others, as he tirelessly did with so many gestures of tenderness that are a central part of his witnessing magisterium.
Also in the Neocatechumenal Way They recalled his "testimony of total self-giving to bear witness to the love of God for every creature" and emphasized their gratitude to the Lord "for having given us a zealous pastor who brought the Gospel to the farthest reaches of the Church, giving himself to manifest to all the closeness and love of God, especially to the poorest and most abandoned in body and spirit".
This same gratitude is what he wanted to emphasize Margaret Karram, president of the Focolare Movement which emphasizes how "together with the whole Church, we give him to God, full of gratitude for the extraordinary example and gift of love that he represented for every person and for all peoples".
Karram, of Palestinian Catholic origin, also wanted to emphasize "the love and personal attention that the Pope gave me, especially in the face of the sufferings of my people in the Holy Land, as well as my deep gratitude for having invited me to participate in the Synod on Synodality, where he himself opened the doors to a synodal Church that is now beginning to take its first steps throughout the world".
Religious women and men emphasize their spiritual guidance
– Supernatural International Union of Superiors General has issued a statement thanking the Pope "for his spiritual guidance, which has strengthened all religious communities around the world in their mission to embody the teachings of Christ. His voice for peace, justice, compassion and ecological care will continue to resonate in our hearts and actions."
– Supernatural union of male superiorsPope Francis' religious vocation made him understand them "from his own experience of consecrated life, but also from his life as a superior, as a pastor in religious life. He understood us as a man who had experienced, no doubt also in a painful way, how difficult it can be to guide a flock of brothers and sisters who wish to respond to the call to follow Christ closely in order to navigate with Him".
They also emphasized that "he has also initiated with us a process of renewal of mysticism, of a journey with Christ present, in love with Him; processes in which consecrated life, like all Christian life, is renewed in an ever more intimate and expanded friendship with Jesus".
Farewell to their Jesuit confreres
Special mention should be made of the communiqué signed by Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of JesusPope Francis belonged to this order.
In an extensive letter, sent to all the brothers and people close to the Society, Sosa wanted to highlight the sorrow for the death of "our dear brother in this minimum Society of JesusJorge Mario Bergoglio. In it we have shared the same spiritual charism and the same style of following our Lord Jesus Christ".
In this sense, Sosa emphasized that Pope Francis "knew how to guide the Church during his pontificate, in communion and continuity with his predecessors in the effort to put into practice the spirit and orientations of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council".
Likewise, the Jesuit superior recalled how "when he addressed us, his brother Jesuits, he always insisted on the priority of reserving sufficient space in our life-mission for prayer and the care of spiritual experience" and recalled the words of the late Pope when he described the members of the Society as "servants of the joy of the gospel". in whatever mission he may be involved in. From this joy," Sosa continues, "flows our obedience to the will of God, to the sending to the service of the mission of the Church and also our apostolates".
