Remembering the figure of the Pope who passed away, the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land highlights his appeals for the poor and needy, his condemnation of violence, and his care for the victims of Gaza and all wars, always present in his prayers.
By: Ibrahim Faltas – Vatican News
Published date:
“Here we tangibly experience that God is life and gives life, but also bears death.” “Man’s faith and the omnipotence of God’s love seek each other and ultimately meet.” These are the words of the Holy Father commenting on the Gospel passage recalling the death of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus.
In St. Peter’s Square, which welcomed the strong voice and presence of a man of peace for twelve years, on Saturday, April 26, we bid a final earthly farewell to Pope Francis, a friend of Jesus.
Amidst the simplicity of a coffin surrounded by the ordinary and the powerful, by believers in Christ’s life and laypeople who believe in life’s values, by common folks and well-known figures, the world embraced him in a tender and serene hug. We thank God again and always for giving us this Pope. We mourn his absence in the square where his last words of peace echoed and from where he spread touching appeals, intense prayers given and received, and life teachings. It was a day of human detachment from a man who never forgot the poor and needy, who condemned violence, who never forgot, hence never removed from his heart, the dead and the sufferers in Gaza and all wars, even those hidden and forgotten.
We will remember the pontiff every time we help children live in peace, giving them attention, care, and education, ensuring essential rights to those denied them, preventing all forms of conflict through dialogue, abolishing the trade and use of weapons.
The gentle wind turned the pages of the Gospel placed on the Pope’s coffin, who, like his predecessors, lived it fully. The open Book seemed to spread God’s word to those present and to the world with the depth of a smile, as Francis did at every moment of his life.
The Pope was still in front of Peter’s chair while a hopeful meeting took place. We couldn’t see it, but the Holy Father smiled and gave a thumbs-up. He will persistently try to bring together two neighboring presidents in the Holy Land but still distant in their positions. These encounters – requested by Francis from the beginning of his ministry in politics and diplomacy – even if held during a moment of great sadness, reveal that “man’s faith and the omnipotence of God’s love seek each other and ultimately meet.” We learned from him the necessity and strength of encounters that help, support, and strengthen starting from the encounter with God “who is life and gives life.”
A few days ago, I received a letter from the Holy Father’s hands, dated March 7, 2025, through the apostolic nuncio in Jerusalem. Those were the days of his hospitalization at the Gemelli Polyclinic, and Pope Francis, physically constrained by illness, continued with his heart always in action to work for peace, to be close to the earth’s last, and to pray for the whole world. At the end of 2024, I was in Syria to meet my fellow friars living and working in that nation afflicted by a long and painful civil war. The Syrian religious leaders were invited to a meeting with the new president al-Sharaa, who had come to power a few weeks earlier. After the meeting, I asked to speak privately with the president. I had not planned this request but in those moments, I felt the need for the encounter. I simply asked the new president about his willingness to recognize and include minorities, all minorities including religious ones. Remembering that day, I think that the example of St. Francis and Pope Francis inspired me to request the meeting, the first step to welcome, accept, and love.
The Syrian leader’s response exceeded my expectations: he expressed esteem and respect for Pope Francis, a man of peace, and spoke of the Christian presence as an integral part of the Syrian people. The diary of those days became an article for “L’Osservatore Romano,” an article that evidently did not escape the Holy Father, who asked me for a more detailed written report on the mission in Syria. His response moved me: the Holy Father, full of God’s love, comforted, supported, and encouraged me even from a hospital bed!
His courageous and consistent choices have given new stimuli and visions to the universal Church and to those who share its values. He was a faithful and steadfast witness of Christ. He defeated hypocrisies, marginalizations, and offenses with acceptance, without prejudice, and with the concreteness of dialogue, presence, and unconditional closeness. He restored value and consideration to the women of the Gospel and women today.
Pope Francis’s words and actions were always simple, spontaneous, and transparent. He humbly served the Church, lived with simplicity and without ostentation: he wore the same shoes and glasses for a long time, traversed the long and difficult road of complex years with the steps and eyes of the poor. When he wrote for the Church and humanity, he always went straight to the essential, seeking to give profound meaning to words.
He disrupted schedules and protocols to pause for prayer, to give a hug, to say a kind word. Pope Francis’s pontificate was marked by many wars, a pandemic that halted the world, and numerous natural disasters, events that brought death, suffering, and destruction.
Nonostante la profonda tristezza per l’umanità ferita, il Santo Padre ci ha insegnato a sorridere, a trovare le parole giuste per consolare, ci ha regalato il vocabolario della perfetta letizia.
La sua sensibilità era palpabile, quasi tangibile, il suo sguardo si illuminava quando si avvicinava ai bambini, alle persone con disabilità, agli anziani, ai poveri, con gioia negli occhi e amore negli abbracci.
Il Santo Padre è stato amato dagli “uomini di buona volontà”. Amava la gente perché conosceva per esperienza e con amore l’animo umano. È stato amato da chi non condivideva la sua fede, ma credeva negli stessi valori: pace, verità e giustizia. È stato rispettato e amato da chi non conosceva il Vangelo, ma condivideva l’urgenza di fermare le guerre per rispettare la vita.
Papa Francesco ha unito, non ha mai diviso, è stato amato perché ha amato.
Il Santo Padre è già accolto tra le braccia del Risorto, ha incontrato l’amico Gesù. Riposa ora accanto alla Madre amata.
