In Easter faith and in prayer articulating the mystery of the Resurrection, we bow our heads in memory of Pope Francis, who passed away today, Easter Monday, at 07:35, at the age of 88.
The Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, originally from Argentina, was elected Bishop of Rome on 13/03/2013 and led the universal Church, numbering approximately 1.4 billion Catholics, for 12 years. With his election, he was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit Pope in the two-thousand-year history of our Church, and the first to take the name Francis.
From the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, light shines upon our sorrow and grief, as we give thanks to God for the earthly life of Pope Francis, for his vibrant and exemplary faith in the Lord, who was crucified and raised for us, and for his energetic Petrine ministry, during which he conveyed—through his speeches, writings, groundbreaking gestures, and apostolic journeys—a new awareness and practice of mercy. He proved to be a bridge-builder in the ecumenical, interreligious, and wider dialogue with all people of good will.
It was close to his heart to be present among people, believers and non-believers, those living in the vibrant pulse of society, and those pushed to its margins. With a paternal heart, he tirelessly advocated for the poor, the homeless, genuine refugees, and generally for people with vulnerable lives.
From the richness of his paternal heart, we Hungarians were able to partake at close quarters during his two apostolic visits to our country (2021 and 2023) and very often during the general audiences held in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
In his encyclical on environmental protection, Laudato si’ (2015), he invited all people to ecological conversion for the sake of preserving 'our common home'. With a prophetic spirit, he energetically championed social justice and firmly condemned the murderous 'economy of exclusion'.
He sought reliable allies for his efforts to extinguish hotbeds of war in order to achieve world peace.
He paved evangelical paths within our Church. He initiated and sustained a comprehensive reform of the Roman Curia. In the synodal process that took place from 2021 to 2024, he energised and promoted in our Church an approach and working method based on listening to the Holy Spirit and respectful mutual listening.
For all these and for other unnamed blessings of his Petrine ministry, we give thanks to Almighty God, and we pray that Christ, our Paschal Lamb, may be his eternal reward.
I ask my brother priests to offer the Most Holy Sacrifice for him on one of the coming days.
Ferenc Palánki
Diocesan Bishop