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ROME — Pope Francis prayed at the graves of children and of miscarried babies on the feast of All Souls before concelebrating Mass with several hundred mourners.
The pope traveled Nov. 2 to Rome’s Laurentino cemetery, which has a special section for children who have died and, nearby, a section called the “Garden of the Angels” where parents who have experienced a miscarriage can opt to have their children buried rather than having a hospital dispose of the remains.
A father who had lost a son greeted the pope, kneeling to kiss the pope’s hand, and then pointing to his son’s grave.
Pope Francis left a bouquet of white roses at the entrance to the garden where stuffed animals, toys, pinwheels and pots of white chrysanthemums in the shape of a heart stand in contrast to the candles and flowers on other graves. The grave markers have only one date on them.
Rather than giving a homily during the Mass, the pope led the congregation in a long moment of silent reflection.
Pope Francis visited the graves of children at Rome’s Laurentino cemetery where he celebrated Mass on the feast of All Souls, Nov. 2.
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of November is for parents who have lost a child. In his video message asking people to join him in the prayer, he began by saying, “What can we say to parents who have lost a child? How can we console them? There are no words.”
At the end of the Mass, the pope prayed that by visiting the graves of their beloved deceased, people would renew their faith in Jesus, who died, was buried and rose again to save humanity.
The bodies of those who have died will rise again on the last day, he said, and those who have fallen asleep in the Lord will join Him in the triumph over death.
He prayed that God would hear people’s prayers for their beloved dead and would “open your arms of mercy” and receive them into the heavenly host.
“Comfort those who are suffering the pain of separation with the certainty that the dead live in you,” he prayed, “and that even the bodies entrusted to the earth will one day participate in the paschal victory of your son.”
The main celebrant at the Mass was Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies. However, unlike at most public Masses in the last few years where the pope presides, but does not concelebrate, Pope Francis stood for the eucharistic prayer and concelebrated the Mass.
Everyone can be a saint by following the Beatitudes
God wants everyone to be a saint, and the clearest path to achieving that goal is loving service to others, Pope Francis said.
Celebrating the feast of All Saints, the pope led the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Nov. 1 with thousands of visitors in St. Peter’s Square.
God calls everyone to holiness, the pope said, and He gives all the baptized what they need to become saints, “but He does not impose it.”
God gives everyone the freedom to follow the example of Jesus, to discern and accept God’s plan, to treat others the way God would and to place themselves at “the service of others with an ever more universal charity, open and addressed to all,” Pope Francis said.
The Eight Beatitudes, listed in the feast day’s Gospel reading — Matthew 5:1-12 — are a clear roadmap to sainthood, the pope said, and the path followed by Blessed Carlo Acutis, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Teresa of Kolkata and St. Oscar Romero.
Everyone can list many saints, he said, both those formally canonized and those “I like to call the ‘saints next door,’ the everyday, hidden ones who carry on their daily Christian lives,” the pope said. “Brothers and sisters, how much hidden holiness there is in the Church!”
“So many brothers and sisters” have lived lives “shaped by the Beatitudes: poor, meek, merciful, hungry and thirsty for justice, peacemakers,” he said. “They are ‘God-filled’ people, unable to remain indifferent to their neighbor’s needs; they are witnesses of luminous paths, which is possible for us as well.”
The feast of All Saints is a good time to reflect, Pope Francis said. “Do I ask God, in prayer, for the gift of a holy life? Do I let myself be guided by the good impulses that His Spirit inspires in me? And do I commit myself personally to practicing the Beatitudes of the Gospel?”
