Dear Parish Family:
This past Easter Sunday night, as I was packing to head to Italy the next morning, the last thing I saw in the news was the message of Hope that Pope Francis offered from the balcony of Saint Peter‘s Basilica in his annual Easter Urbi et Orbi message. On Easter Monday morning, like the world, I was shocked and heartbroken to hear the news that Pope Francis had gone home “to the house of the Father”. I immediately thought of my Easter homily where you heard me talk about having a good death because one gets to see the face of God!
Pope Francis was a trailblazing Jesuit and I will remember him for several ways in which he surprised us during his 13-year pontificate. I remember when he appeared on the balcony of Saint Peter‘s Basilica shortly after he had been elected and his first act was not to impart a blessing but to ask the thousands of faithful in Saint Peter’s Square to bless him. From the very beginning, he reminded us that we all have God’s divine power and love flowing through us. We were all surprised to see him go back to the hotel, where he had stayed at before the conclave, in order to pay his bill and settle accounts. We were surprised that he chose a name no previous Pope had dared to take – Francis, after the poor man of Assisi. This Pope lived up to that name by caring for the poor, the vulnerable, the immigrant and refugee. We were surprised when on Holy Thursday night, he broke with tradition and washed the feet of prisoners, the disabled, women, and people of other faiths. We were surprised and grateful that this Pope sought to promote and affirm women in the life of the church and especially in the bureaucracy of the Vatican. The church is for everyone!
I write this to you from northern Italy. Our Jubilee pilgrimage is scheduled to take us to Rome next week where I had hoped to see and possibly meet Pope Francis. That will have to wait. Meanwhile, I’ll gather with the faithful in Saint Peter’s Square, praying for the Holy Spirit to select the candidate who will fill the Shoes of the Fisherman.
Pope Francis rest in peace and eternal light!
Easter love and peace,
Msgr. Kevin