The pope wanted to celebrate this Mass for the faithful departed in a cemetery where suffering is even more incomprehensible.
Pope Francis laid several bouquets of flowers at the tombs of unborn babies who are buried in the “Garden of Angels.” This is a place reserved in the Laurentino cemetery for unborn children.
After spending a few minutes praying for the deceased, the pope greeted some of the families who had come to visit their loved ones.
The Mass began minutes later in this Roman cemetery, one of the largest in the city.
In his homily, which he said without his papers, Pope Francis invited everyone to never to forget, neither personal nor collective memories.
POPE FRANCIS
“Memory makes us understand that we are not alone. We are a people. A people that has a history, that has a past and that has life. It is the memory of many who have shared the path with us. Who are here.”
Along with memory, Pope Francis assured that the commemoration of the faithful departed is also a day for hope.
POPE FRANCIS
“Memory and hope. Hope to see our loved ones again. Hope to reach where the love that created us is, where the love that awaits us is, the love of the Father.”
The past, future and present. The pope explained these are the three dimensions in which this day is made concrete. The past is memory. The future is hope and the present is the way forward. In order not to fall on this path, Pope Francis asked everyone to look to the Beatitudes.
POPE FRANCIS
“What is the navigator that God Himself has given us so as not to choose the wrong way? They are the Beatitudes that Jesus has taught us in the Gospel. These Beatitudes: meekness, poverty of spirit, justice, mercy, purity of heart. They are the lights that accompany us so that we do not go astray. This is our present.”
Despite the harsh weather, hundreds of people accompanied Pope Francis in this Mass that remembers those who are no longer among us.
