This is the English translation of the prepared text of the homily, delivered in Italian by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the college of Cardinals, for the funeral of Pope Francis on the Place de loss de Saint-Pierre at the Vatican on April 26, 2025.
In this majestic Place de Saint-Pierre, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and has presided over large rallies in the past 12 years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his fatal remains. However, we are supported by the certainty of faith, which assures us that human existence does not end in the tomb, but in the house of the father, in a life of happiness which will know no end.
On behalf of the College of Cardinals, thank you cordially for your presence. With a deep emotion, I provide respectful greetings and sincere thanks to heads of state, heads of government and official delegations who came from many countries to express their affection, veneration and their esteem for our deceased Saint-Père.
The outpouring of affection which we have witnessed in recent days after his passage from this earth to eternity tells us how the deep pontificate of Pope Francis touched the spirits and hearts.
The final image that we have of him, which will remain engraved in our memory, is that of Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica. He then went down on this square to greet the large crowd gathered for the mass of Easter while driving in the Open Popemobile.
With our prayers, we are now confusing the soul of our beloved pontiff to God, so that he will grant him eternal happiness in the brilliant and glorious gaze of his immense love.
We are enlightened and guided by the passage of the Gospel, in which the very voice of Christ sounds, asking for the first of the apostles: “Peter, do you love me more than these?” Peter’s response was fast and sincere: “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you!” Jesus then entrusted him with the great mission: “Nourished my sheep.” It will be the constant task of Pierre and his successors, a love service in the footsteps of Christ, our master and the Lord, who “did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Despite his fragility and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of autonomy until the last day of his earthly life. He followed the traces of his Lord, the good shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving them his life. And he did it with strength and serenity, near his herd, the Church of God, aware of the words of Jesus quoted by the Apostle Paul: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the conclave on March 13, 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he has already had many years of experience in religious life in the society of Jesus and, above all, was enriched by 21 years of pastoral ministry in the archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as auxiliary, then as Coadjutor and, above all, like Archevêque.
The decision to take the name of Francis immediately seemed to indicate the pastoral plan and the style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, seeking the inspiration of the spirit of Saint-François d’Assise.
He maintained his temperament and his form of pastoral leadership, and by his resolved personality, immediately made his mark on the governance of the Church. He has established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with marked attention to those who are in difficulty, giving himself without measure, in particular to marginalized, the least of us. He was a pope among the people, with a heart open to everyone. He was also a pope attentive to the signs of the time and what the Holy Spirit woke up in the church.
With his characteristic vocabulary and language, rich in images and metaphors, he has always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the Gospel. He did this by offering a response guided by the light of faith and encouraging us to live as Christians in the midst of challenges and contradictions in recent years, which he liked to describe as a “change of time”.
He had great spontaneity and informal way of addressing everyone, even those of the Church.
Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis has really shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes for this period of globalization. He gave himself by comforting us and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching the hearts of people in a direct and immediate way.
His charisma of welcome and listening, combined with a way of behavior in accordance with today’s sensitivities, touched the heart and sought to reappear moral and spiritual sensitivities.
Evangelization was the guiding principle of its pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he spreads the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. It is a joy that fills the hearts of all those who confide in God with confidence and hope.
The thread guide of its mission was also the conviction that the church is a house for everyone, a house with its doors always open. He often used the image of the church as a “field hospital” after a battle in which many were injured; A church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world; A church capable of looking at each person, whatever their beliefs or their condition, and to heal their wounds.
His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence to work on behalf of the poor was constant.
It is significant that the first trip of Pope Francis was to Lampedusa, an island which symbolizes the tragedy of emigration, with thousands of people drowning at sea. In the same vein, his journey to Lesbos, with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Athens, as well as the celebration of a mass on the border between Mexico and the United States during his trip to Mexico.
From his 47 arduous apostolic trips, that of Iraq in 2021, defying all risks, will remain particularly memorable. This difficult apostolic journey was a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi people, who had suffered so much from inhuman actions of the Islamic State. It was also an important trip for interreligious dialogue, another significant dimension of his pastoral work.
With his apostolic journey in 2024 in four countries in Asia-Oceania, the Pope reached “the most peripheral periphery in the world”.
Pope Francis has always placed the Gospel of Mercy at the center, stressing several times that God never tires of forgiving us. He always forgives, whatever the situation of the person asking for forgiveness and returns to the right track.
He called for the extraordinary jubilee of mercy in order to emphasize that mercy is “the heart of the gospel”.
The mercy and joy of the Gospel are two keywords for Pope Francis.
Contrary to what he called “waste culture”, he spoke of the culture of meeting and solidarity. The theme of fraternity has gone through all its pontificate with vibrant tones. In his encyclical letter Fratelli TuttiHe wanted to rekindle a global aspiration for fraternity, because we are all children of the same father who is in paradise. He has often reminded us forcefully that we all belong to the same human family.
In 2019, during his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis signed “a document on human fraternity for world peace and life together”, recalling the common fatherhood of God.
Addressing men and women around the world, in his encyclical letter “Laudato if ‘“He drew attention to our duties and shared responsibilities for our common house, declaring:” No one is saved alone. “”
Faced with the unleashed wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and their innumerable death and destruction, Pope Francis constantly has a voice imploring peace and calling for honest reason and negotiations to find possible solutions. The war, he said, leads to the death of people and the destruction of houses, hospitals and schools. The war always leaves the world worse than before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone.
“Building bridges, not walls” was an exhortation that he repeated several times, and his service of faith as a successor to the apostle Peter has always been linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions. Spiritually united to all Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, so that God will welcome him in the immensity of his love.
Pope Francis concluded his speeches and meetings saying: “Don’t forget to pray for me.”
Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the church, bless Rome and bless the whole world of heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embraces humanity which seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds the torch of hope.