This afternoon, at 16.00, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, the Holy Father Leo XIV presided over the Eucharistic Celebration at the monumental entrance of Verano Cemetery.
The following is the homily delivered by the Pope before the proclamation of the Gospel:
Homily of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are gathered here to celebrate the Eucharist in this place of prayer and remembrance, of affection and hope. We offer it in memory of the faithful departed, in particular for those who rest here and for those whom each of us holds dear in our hearts.
To commemorate the faithful departed on the day after the Solemnity of All Saints guides this prayer of ours. We turn to the Father in heaven so that the life of holiness and bliss, which so many of His sons and daughters already enjoy, may envelop the souls of those who sleep the sleep of peace.
Our faith is illuminated by the Word that has been proclaimed and which strengthens our trust in the hands of God. As the Book of Wisdom reminds us, His hands are able to safeguard the souls of the righteous effectively: ‘no torment will ever touch them’ (Wis 3:1). This is the promise of salvation, which, especially on this day, becomes the heart of the supplication we raise to the Lord of life on behalf of all the faithful departed.
May his fatherly and sure hands keep them for ever, so that they may fully enjoy that mutual and vital communion which the Lord promises to his people in the Book of Revelation: “They shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them” (Rev 21:3). Our prayer intercedes that this eternal communion of life, promised by the Good Shepherd to His sheep, who will never be lost for ever and whom no one will snatch from His hand (cf. Jn 10:28)—may be fulfilled.
Dear friends, we have heard the Gospel of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12). They are like a self-portrait of Jesus, which He Himself makes available to His disciples, proclaiming: “Blessed are you!” (v. 11). The Beatitudes are the path to a full and fulfilled life, both now and for all eternity. When we hear them proclaimed in the Liturgy, as we know, it is the Risen Lord who speaks to us. And this proclamation of salvation that is the Beatitudes resounds with particular spiritual force in a cemetery, which is like a threshold between this world and the next, between earthly existence and the hereafter that awaits us. The Risen Jesus tells us: blessed are those who live according to this way, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Among the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel of Matthew, there is one that touches us in a particular way: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4). At this time we want to pray for those who have recently lost someone dear to them; in particular for those from whom a loved one has been torn away by the senseless violence of war. May the tears of so many mothers, so many children and so many elderly people touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons!
In the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, it comes naturally to recall the “beatitude” that he added to the Canticle of the Creatures, when he understood that his end was near: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, / from whom no living man can escape. / Woe to those who die in mortal sin. / Blessed are those who will find Your most holy will, / for the second death shall do them no harm”.
Dear brothers and sisters, faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not interrupted, but transformed. With prayer for their repose, we accompany our loved ones towards full communion with the Lord, that communion of which have a real foretaste already here, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Inspired by this faith full of hope, we continue our earthly journey, awaiting the day when He will wipe away every tear, when “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).
