29 April 2025

Vale Pope Francis

Article by Carmen Ahearn | Deputy Principal - Faith and Mission

Vale Pope Francis

Pope Francis has been central to our prayers in recent weeks and his passing has filled our community with deep sadness. We have been blessed by his compassionate and courageous leadership over the past twelve years. Pope Francis was humble and authentic in his will to serve others, inspiring millions across the world to act justly, reach out to those on the margins, and love unconditionally. He leaves us with a legacy to love each other and our world.

Andrew Hamilton SJ highlights the importance of Pope Francis to those within Jesuit communities, noting that, “he was a Jesuit who became head of the Catholic Church from which we descend. His death, however, is more significant, more personal to us, because in his life he displayed spectacularly the qualities that are in our DNA. He took ‘welcoming, discerning, and courageous’ to a new level, and embodied these words in striking actions.”

In his last days, Francis left us with an Easter message of joy that Christ has risen. We have been left with a mission; a mission to not “confine him (Christ) to a fairy tale, we cannot make him a hero of the ancient world, or think of him as a statue in a museum! On the contrary, we must look for him and this is why we cannot remain stationary. We must take action, set out to look for him: look for him in life, look for him in the faces of our brothers and sisters, look for him in everyday business, look for him everywhere except in the tomb.”


We pray for eternal rest for Pope Francis:

Eternal rest grant unto Francis, O Lord.
And let the perpetual light shine upon him.

And may his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.



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