Entrance Hymn: Lord of all hopefulness

Pope Francis Requiescat in pace

Bishop Fintan invites people to remember Pope Francis with  gratitude and in prayer:

Following the announcement by the Holy See that Pope Francis has ‘returned to the House of the Lord’, Bishop Fintan Gavin invites the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross to unite in prayer to God at this time. “I invite the parishioners, priests, deacons and religious of our diocese to join as one with the faithful across the globe as we commend Pope Francis to the Lord. We give thanks to Almighty God for the gift of Pope Francis as shepherd of the people of God and we thank God for his selfless service and dedication to the end of his earthly life. We remember Pope Francis as one who challenged us to reach out to those on the margins and to bring God’s mercy to all those we encounter. We pray together that Pope Francis’ call to all of us to make this Jubilee Year a Year of Hope may be fulfilled. In what was to be his last pastoral message to the faithful on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said: ‘All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey. Together with the risen Jesus, they become pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the victory of love and of the disarmed power of Life.’ We pray together now that Pope Francis’ prayer will be answered and that his soul may be in eternal peace with God.”

Pope Francis’ testament, dated 29 June 2022:

As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial. Throughout my life, and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest – awaiting the day of the Resurrection – in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. I wish my final earthly journey to end precisely in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray at the beginning and end of every Apostolic Journey, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother, and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care. The tomb should be in the ground; simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription: Franciscus.

May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me. The suffering that has marked the final part of my life, I offer to the Lord, for peace in the world and for fraternity among peoples.

Recessional Hymn: Hail Redeemer, King divine!