By Isabella Piro
“Remember me at the altar of the Lord, wherever you may be.” These words, spoken by Saint Monica in her final farewell to her sons Augustine and Navigius, provide the central theme of the homily delivered by Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, Nov 5.
Presiding at Mass in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for the repose of the souls of Cardinals and Bishops who have died over the past year—seven Cardinals and 136 bishops, who passed away between October 2025 and the end of last month—the Pope reflected on the spiritual value of remembrance, emphasizing that praying for the dead is one of the Church’s “fundamental duties.”
Hope in the Resurrection
From this starting point, the Pope invites the faithful to reflect on “two truths” underlying prayers for the deceased. The first is “hope in the resurrection”:
” For our remembrance of our departed brothers and sisters at the altar of the Lord is founded on the promise that our life, in Christ, is not lost, because it has been redeemed. (…) For, as Scripture emphasizes, if there were no resurrection, it would be futile to pray for the dead,” he said.
Read the full homily of Pope Leo XIV
Celebration of life
“To pray for the repose of the dead is to celebrate life,” the Pope emphasized, with steadfast trust and by virtue of the great hope bestowed upon the world by the Risen Christ.
“Let us not, therefore, allow the remembrance of the dead to become mere nostalgia. In faith, let us contemplate the mystery of death without fear, because the Lord is alive, awaits us and has already prepared a place for us in His Father’s house.”
Communion of Saints
Pope Leo XIV then highlighted “the communion of saints.” When we pray for the deceased, he explained, we pray both for them”but also with them, drawn into a reciprocity” made alive by the Holy Spirit, with the certainty that the communion we experienced with one another on earth, despite its limitations and failings, does not come to an end when entrusted into God’s hands.
“In Christ, death does not dissolve our bonds,” he said. “Rather, it transfigures them into a new dimension, which can be understood only in the mystery of his love, given to the very end on the cross and poured out after his paschal victory.”
The Pope concluded by encouraging the faithful to preserve and nurture this communion always, as they journey toward the radiant face of God.
Loving embrace of the merciful Father
Several Bishops and Cardinals attended the celebration, including Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, respectively Dean and Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, who were at the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer.
During the Liturgy of the Word, the first reading, in French, was taken from the Second Book of Maccabees (12:43–46). The Psalm, sung in Italian, was Psalm 142: “Lord, hear my prayer.” The second reading, in English, was a passage from the First Letter of Saint John (3:14–16). The Gospel reading, proclaimed in Italian by the deacon, was also from John: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (12:23–28).
The Prayer of the Faithful was offered in Italian. Among the intentions, special prayers were raised for those entrusted with civil and social responsibilities, that they might pursue “projects of justice and peace for the good of the entire human family,” and for all the deceased, that they may be welcomed into the “paternal embrace” of the merciful Father. – Vatican News
