Message from Deacon Ernie on the death of His Holiness Papa Francesco, Christ the Servant
- Apr 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Brothers,
On this day, we recognize the humble guardian, laborer, and servant, we reflect on a man who lived his vocation with quiet strength and a humility.
We join the Church and the world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, the 266th successor of St. Peter. The first Jesuit pope, the first from Latin America, and the first to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi, he was a man of firsts and a man of deep faith and courageous humility.
Pope Francis never tired of reminding us of Christ the Servant - the one who kneels, who washes feet, who draws near to the forgotten and unloved. In this moment of loss, we are invited to remember his witness through the image of him on his knees, washing the feet of the poor and incarcerated, an icon of the Church on mission, a diaconal Church.
In today’s Gospel, we hear of Mary Magdalene worshiping at the feet of Jesus, pouring out her love in a gesture of profound humility, joy, and repentance. Pope Francis embodied this same posture before Christ and the people of God. Like Mary Magdalene, he knew that love and mercy are not concepts to be taught but acts to be lived. Like Christ, he bent low so others could rise.
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis called the Church to return to the peripheries, to encounter through our wounds, the wounded Christ in the suffering, and to live as a field hospital amid a broken world. His life echoed his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, where he wrote: “Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love…” That encounter shaped every word, every gesture, every tear he shed for the people on the margins.
As deacons, configured to Christ the Servant, we give thanks for his witness and leadership. We pray for the repose of his soul, and we entrust him to the Lord whom he loved and served. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he gaze upon the face of the Servant King, in the fullness of joy.
+AMDG+
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