Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a requiem mass by Pope Francis this Wednesday, April 23, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the place where the empty tomb of Christ is in the Holy Land is.
According to the Latin patriarchy of Jerusalemthe Eucharist was concelebrated by Cardinal Mykola Bychok, Eparcal Bishop of the Saints Pedro and Pablo de Melbourne of the Ukrainians (Australia), another purple that, such as Cardinal Pizzaballa, will also participate in the conclave to choose the new Pope.
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With 45 years, Cardinal Bychok is the youngest in the world.
Fr. Francesco Patton, Ofm, custodian of the Holy Land, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Delegate, Mons. William Shomali, Vicar General Patriarchal, and Mons. Rafiq Nahra, patriarchal vicar for Galilee, along with other bishops and priests.
In his homily, Father Patton expressed the deep regret of the Church for the death of Pope Francis, encouraged hope with the resurrection of Christ and stressed that the Holy Father always asked for prayers for him.
The custodian of Tierra Santa also highlighted the constant closeness of the pontiff to the suffering and pain of the people of the Holy Land, in particular in Gaza, for which he often asked for a high fire and humanitarian aid.
Father Patton concluded his homily calling to follow the example of Pope Francis in a life of mercy and hope, and stressing that his message will remain alive in the hearts of the faithful.
Words of Cardinal Pizzaballa before leaving to Rome
“It is a time when we need to be united in prayer, first of all for me, because this is a time when I have a great and important responsibility,” says Cardinal Patriarch of Jerusalem, one of the 133 cardinals who will participate in the conclave to choose the successor of Pope Francis.
“And we must all pray for the Church, because we are part of a great body that is the Universal Church: the Catholic Church,” continues the purple of Italian origin.
“I am sure that your prayers, all together, will bring the right decisions for the good of the Universal Church. Thank you, united in prayer. That the Lord bless you and see you soon,” he concludes.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.