Archbishop Juan del Rio, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, diesDeath is not the endHeaven's friendsA communication full of hopeThe Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Juan José Omella, presided at the funeral Mass for Archbishop Juan del Río.
The celebration, which took place in the Cathedral Church of the Armed Forces in Madrid at 12:00 noon, took place in great intimacy, both family and institutional, due to the current circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the bishops who were able to accompany Bishop Del Rio in this farewell were Cardinal Carlos Osoro, Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Ricardo Blázquez, Archbishop of Valladolid, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Bishop Bernardito Auza. Ricardo Blázquez, Archbishop of Valladolid, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Bishop Bernardito Auza.
The coffin, draped with the national flag, has been covered, at the beginning of the ceremony, with the chasuble and the episcopal insignia: miter and crosier, as well as the Gospel, was in the center of the transept of this church.
Death is a mystery
Cardinal Omella wanted to emphasize in his homily that "It was not God's will to leave him with us any longer and we accept it, even if it costs us, because God knows what is best for each one of us". Likewise, the president of the EEC stressed that "this virus does not differentiate between people, it has united us in fragility, it has reminded us all of our vulnerable condition". "Death is a mystery."Omella continued, "we ask ourselves questions like this: why do we have to die? To these questions, the Lord answers 'I am the Resurrection and the life'.".
He also pointed out: "We are masters of almost nothing, neither of life nor of death, neither of pastoral work nor of evangelization. Everything is in God's hands and he knows how to draw strength from weakness, he only asks us to abandon ourselves to him.".
Bishop Omella asked especially that God grant "consolation and peace" to all those who knew and appreciated Bishop Juan del Río and the Archdiocese of the Spanish Military Archdiocese. Recalling the motto of Bishop del Río, "Opus, iustitiae pax", has pointed out that don Juan "He worked side by side with the Armed Forces and state security forces in that beautiful humanitarian work of bringing peace and solidarity to all parts of the world and society. He was happy and proud to see that the Armed Forces and the security forces of the state collaborated so much in helping to overcome the pandemic and to alleviate suffering through the military Caritas that he created in his years of shepherding in this archbishopric".
Especially emotional was the moment when, after the Consecration, the Spanish hymn was played, continuing with the rite of the funeral Mass in the usual way.
The Apostolic Nuncio was in charge of reading the condolences and blessing sent by Pope Francis and the message from the King and Queen of Spain.
The painful goodbye
Finally, the Vicar General of the Military Archbishopric, Father Carlos Jesús Montes Herrero, thanked all those who, since Bishop Del Río's admission to the hospital, have shown their concern and closeness for the condition of the Military Archbishop and read a text from Bishop Juan del Río, "....The painful goodbye", collected in his reflections "Diary of a Pastor before COVID 19".
The military archbishop and president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications had been admitted on January 21 to the Central Defense Hospital "Gomez Ulla", affected by COVID-19. The complications of the disease led to his death a week later. He is the first active bishop to die of the pandemic in our country.
