Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! Today we complete the octave of Easter with both a joyful reverence and somber remembrance of the recent passing of Pope Francis this past Easter Monday. The deaths and elections of popes are always major moments in the life and history of the Church and times of special prayer. “The Pope” describes both a person and an office, and it finds its origin in the special call of Christ given to his apostle Simon whom he named Peter (Mt 16:18). In the apostolic evangelization of the pagan world, Peter traveled to the center of western civilization, Rome, to establish there a new Christian community and lead it until his martyrdom under Nero in about 64 AD. Second century writings from St. Irenaeus tell us that Linus followed in Peter’s stead, then Anacletus, Clement, and onward. In an unbroken succession down through the ages, Francis was, most recently, the 266th bishop of Rome. May he rest in peace. You will notice that in the liturgy, we will have the rare experience of naming no pope during the Eucharistic prayer until a new one is elected.

I was in seminary and studying in Rome when Francis was elected. I remember the experience well because I watched it all unfold in person; certainly, a moment that you can’t plan for but one that you never forget. There was the announcement of Pope Benedict’s resignation, his final Wednesday audience, the arrival of all the cardinals throughout the world for the opening conclave Mass, then the papal conclave itself… I stood in St. Peter’s Square as the white smoke first billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel announcing a successful election. All the church bells throughout the city rang out as Rome came to a halt and oceans of people began flooding the Square and the Via Conciliazione all the way back to the Tiber River. I heard his papal name first pronounced by the Cardinal protodeacon and watched him step out onto the Loggia and into the public for the first time. I served at Francis’ Mass of Installation, and again as a deacon for him at Easter morning Mass in 2016. The various papal audiences, his personal visit to the American seminary, there’s a whole rolodex of memories with Pope Francis in the back of my brain from my time in Rome. Thanks be to God for all these blessings.

Please remember to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul and pray also for the Cardinal electors who will soon ask God to guide their hearts in choosing the next successor of St. Peter. Easter teaches us that, in Christ, even the mysteries of suffering and death shall give way to the promise of new life. We will witness that promise fulfilled for the universal Church just as we witnessed the promise of new life fulfilled here in our own parish. At last week’s Easter vigil I was blessed to baptize, confirm, and/or give first Holy Communion to seven sisters in Christ who are now all fully fledged, fully initiated members of our Catholic family. Congratulations to Brianna, Carin, Morgan, Sue, Amy, Rachel, and Kayleigh! If you’ve never been to an Easter vigil, ten out of ten would recommend, you should put that on your bucket list at least once in your life. If you’d like to celebrate them, enjoy a bowl of ice cream this week in their honor, and for the glory of the Lord. It’s Easter season after all, and we’ve got 50 days to celebrate!

Fr. Brian