I woke up earlier than usual, catching Joe before he went out the door. Before my feet hit the floor, he turned to me in our room and said “Pope Francis has died.”
It was the second day in the Octave of Easter. We had just celebrated Easter, had a delicious dinner with friends and caught up on so many things. We were celebrating.
I had to ask Joe 3 times if he was joking, not because he’d joke about something like this but because I was so shocked. Yes Pope Francis was elderly, and ill, and we all knew he wasn’t long for this world. Still, he had been the pope for most of my time as a Catholic. A stable figure.
I won’t eulogize the pope here, but I do want to invite each person reading this to pray for him, and for the Church. Beginning with Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26th, the Catholic Church will enter into 9 days of mourning, the Novemdiales, a time to reflect, to pray, and to say goodbye to our earthly pastor.
Prayer is powerful. It shapes our hearts, and our souls. If ever the…
