(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the President of Romania, after the tragic fire Friday evening at a nightclub in Bucharest, which killed 32 people, and left over 130 others injured.
In a telegram, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, said Pope Francis expressed his “deep sorrow” over the tragedy, especially given the youth of the victims, and ensured his “spiritual closeness to the families of the victims, government authorities, and the entire nation,” as well as “commending to the mercy of the Lord the many who died” in the fire.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday celebrated Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for all the cardinals and bishops who have died over the past year. Recalling with gratitude the vocation of those Church leaders, the Pope noted that the principle task of all ordained ministers is that of service to others.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
Pope Francis said just as Jesus knelt to wash the feet of his closest disciples, so he calls all his ministers today to renew their commitment to service in his Church. Just as Jesus came to serve and not to be served, the Pope insisted, so his ministers are called in turn to be pastors, ready to give their lives for their flock. In the eyes of this world, he said, those who serve are seen as losers: but in reality it is those who give their lives and lose themselves in the love of Christ who will overcome death and give life to the world.
Pope Francis recalled the words of Jesus that “God so loved the world” that he sent his Son as a servant to take on our sins and to save us from death by dying for us. Just as the Israelites were saved from death, after being bitten by poisonous snakes, by looking at the bronze snake that Moses held up on a pole, so Christ saves us from death through his death on the Cross.
To our eyes, death seems dark and fearful, just as those who died from snake bites in the desert were full of fear and suffering. Yet Jesus took fully upon himself all these contradictions, the Pope said, so that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”.
This style of service and humility, he continued, has much to teach us. Though we find it hard to accept this mystery, he said, the secret lies in the strength of God’s love for us. Through the mystery of Easter, Jesus not only conquered death but transformed evil into good – not through words, but deeds, not on the surface but at the root. He has transformed the Cross into a bridge towards life and we can do the same if we choose to follow his example of service and humility.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis visited the crypt beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Monday evening, for a time of private prayer for the repose of the souls of his predecessors in the office of bishop of Rome, who have departed this life.
It is a tradition for Popes to pray for their departed predecessors in this way on the Solemnity of All Souls – the day on which the whole Church prays for the dead, recommending friends, enemies, loved-ones, relatives and strangers alike to the mercy of God.
The month of November begins with the Solemnities of All Saints and All Souls, in which Christians give glory to God for the witness of the countless people who lived their lives of holiness in secret, and then express their solicitude for all those, who have gone before us out of time and into eternity.
The whole month of November is in fact focused in a particular way on our care and concern for the dead, and the Church recommends those who have passed to the Father of Mercies.
(from Vatican Radio)…