By Christopher Wells
Pope Leo XIV made his way across town on Monday to Rome’s Campo Verano Cemetery, where he celebrated Mass for the Commemoration of All Souls’ Day.
In his homily, the Holy Father noted the connection with the Solemnity of All Saints, observed on Nov 1, which he described as giving “direction to our prayer.”
“We turn to our Father in heaven,” he said, “asking that the life of holiness and beatitude—already enjoyed by so many of His sons and daughters—may enfold the souls of all those who sleep the sleep of peace.”
He recalled the “promise of salvation” made in Scripture, which assures us that “no torment shall ever touch” the souls of the just.
God’s “fatherly and steadfast hands hold them for eternity,” he continued, “so that they may fully enjoy that vital, mutual belonging which the Lord promise to His people” in the Bible.
Pope Leo said our prayer asks that those who have died might share in the “eternal communion of life” promised by God.
Turning to the Gospel, the Holy Father noted that the Beatitudes serve as “a self-portrait of Jesus, which He Himself offers to His disciples.” The Beatitudes, he explained, “are the path to a full and fulfilled life—both now and in eternity.”
Pope Leo highlighted especially the Beatitude that promises that those who mourn shall be comforted, saying we pray especially for those who have recently lost a loved one—“especially those from whom a loved one has been torn away by the senseless violence of war.”
He prayed that their tears “might touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons!”
Finally, Pope Leo recalled the “beatitude” added by St Francis of Assisi to his Canticle of the Creatures: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, / from whom no living person can escape. / Woe to those who die in mortal sin; / blessed are those whom she finds doing Your most holy will, / for the second death shall do them no harm.”
He assured the faithful that “faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not broken, but transformed.” – Vatican News
