Pope Francis celebrated Mass for All Souls at the Church of the Pontifical Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Camposanto, located in Vatican City. Only a few people were present, to mitigate the risk of coronavirus contagion. Everyone but the pope and choir members wore masks.
During his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the first reading, which described how Job, despite his immense suffering, carried on with the hope and certainty that he would one day see God.
POPE FRANCIS
“This certainty, precisely in the moment when his life seems to be over, is Christian hope. That hope is a gift we cannot obtain alone. It's a gift for which we must ask: 'Lord, give me hope.'”
The pope also reflected on the Gospel reading, in which St. Paul says that hope doesn't disappoint, but gives life meaning and draws us toward eternal joy.
POPE FRANCIS
“Hope is an anchor we have on the other side. We hold on to the rope: 'I know my Redeemer is alive. I will see Him.' This is something we must repeat, in moments of joy, in moments of hardship, in moments of death.”
He emphasized that despite the temptation to despair and to think that there is nothing after death, hope in God will never disappoint.
After Mass, Pope Francis visited the Teutonic Cemetery, where he blessed the tombs and prayed for the faithful departed. He has consistently expressed his closeness to all coronavirus victims and those who have died caring for them.
Then he made a private visit to the Vatican grottoes beneath St. Peter's Basilica to pray for his deceased predecessors.
CT
