Prayer for Pope Francis' eternal repose held at the Cathedral

On April 23, 2025, a memorial prayer was held at the Cathedral to mourn the passing of Pope Francis and to pray for his eternal repose. Representatives from various sectors attended the event to pay their respects. Homily by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo:

Dear Friends, we are here today to meditate on the great gift of life we all have received and the late Pope Francis was able to shine so extraordinarily in his person. When a loved one dies, one feels an unbridgeable void. But we are comforted by the fruit that the person has matured through his/her life. Our presence here today, representing different peoples, cultures and religious traditions, is in itself a sign that the life and works of Pope Francis are bearing fruit. A fruit of peace, harmony and compassionate love.

The first reading we heard tells us of a man completely transfigured by his encounter with Christ: this is St Paul, one of the greatest apostles of all time. We like to associate Pope Francis with the radicality of this Saint. In fact, the determination to do good, the commitment to peace and universal fraternity, the struggle for justice and reconciliation came to him precisely from a profound identification with Christ, truly encountered in life and followed with all his strength at every stage of his human journey. How many lessons we have received from Pope Francis! And in how many different areas of life! Ecology, economics, art, scientific research, sociology... Indeed, nothing is excluded when one follows the divine teaching of Christ, which elevates humanity to its greatest dignity. This is why the Catholic Church has always been committed to promoting life in all its forms, respecting everyone and taking care of the situations that most need care and attention.

If we consider the motto chosen by Pope Francis, “Miserando atque Eligendo”, we find in it a quotation from a saint. It is St. Bede the Venerable, a great Bible scholar of the 7th century. It refers to the episode in the Gospel we have just heard. The attention of this Scripture commentator is on the mercy-filled gaze of Jesus, directed at the tax collector called Levi. That gaze was enough for Levi to feel called to follow the Master. The same experience Pope Francis had in 1953, at the age of 17, when he inwardly felt the call to leave everything and consecrate himself to Christ in the Jesuit order. From then on, his life was marked by continuous obedience, until the College of Cardinals elected him Pope on 13 March 2013.

The love-filled gaze that Jesus places on each person is the source of the intimate joy that animates his disciples, even in the midst of life’s contradictions. We are all sinners, as was that man sitting at the tax booth, who was a troublesome person to the common mind. And the good news is that God has come to meet us precisely in our poor humanity, to bring it back to its original design.

As Pope Francis reminded us just the day before he left this world, the hope within us is more alive than ever:

Today at last, the singing of the “alleluia” is heard once more in the Church, passing from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, and this makes the people of God throughout the world shed tears of joy.

From the empty tomb in Jerusalem, we hear unexpected good news: Jesus, who was crucified, “is not here, he has risen” (Lk24:5). Jesus is not in the tomb, he is alive!

Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day.

Sisters and brothers, especially those of you experiencing pain and sorrow, your silent cry has been heard and your tears have been counted; not one of them has been lost! In the passion and death of Jesus, God has taken upon himself all the evil in this world and in his infinite mercy has defeated it. He has uprooted the diabolical pride that poisons the human heart and wreaks violence and corruption on every side. The Lamb of God is victorious! That is why, today, we can joyfully cry out: “Christ, my hope, has risen!” (Easter Sequence).

The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope. For in the light of this event, hope is no longer an illusion. Thanks to Christ — crucified and risen from the dead — hope does not disappoint! Spes non confundit! (cf. Rom 5:5). That hope is not an evasion, but a challenge; it does not delude, but empowers us.

(Francis, Urbi et Orbi message, April 20, 2025).

Hope was also the underlying theme of Pope Francis’ historic visit to Mongolia in 2023. Our gratitude goes to the civil and religious authorities who made that visit possible, considered by all to be one of the most significant of the many that took him to 66 countries around the world. The motto of that visit was ‘Hoping Together’ and indeed all of us experienced the power of communion at the service of the common good. When believers of various religious faiths are able to sit down as brothers and sisters, perhaps within a Mongolian ger, and contribute together to the integral well-being of societies, the world regains hope and bridges of peace and prosperity are built for all.

Hope is also the main theme of the Jubilee that marks this year for Catholics. Jubilee for us Catholics means a year of special graces, in which to experience God’s infinite mercy in an even more concrete way. To remind us that God always gives us a new opportunity to convert and transform our lives into a project of love for others, the doors of the papal basilicas in Rome were opened, as if to invite us to cross the threshold and enter into a new communion with God and with each other. In his wheelchair, with great humility, on the night of 24 December, Pope Francis opened the monumental doors of St Peter’s Basilica, offering to all who wish to do so to enter into a new state of grace. May the gates of Heaven now open to welcome into eternal peace the one who was an authentic witness of love and mercy on earth.

I kindly invite you now to listen to some passages from the encyclical letter "Fratelli Tutti" by Pope Francis and to cultivate in each of you the seed of hope for humanity. Thank you.