The world will always remember Pope Francis

Fr Josué Frédéric Ilboudo, Deputy Head of Mission of the Apostolic Nunciature, Chargé d’Affaires, delivered the following statement at the Requiem Mass for Pope Francis on Friday, April 25 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In the name of the Holy See and on behalf of his Excellency Archbishop Santiago de Wit Guzmán, Apostolic Nuncio, currently out of the country, I wish to thank all of you for your presence here this morning to pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis, and to pay tribute to the memory of this great man who led the Church for 12 years.

I would like to express my special thanks to the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government for the message of condolences that the Nunciature received on the very day of the Holy Father’s passing and transmitted to the Vatican. This is perhaps the first official message from a Head of State to reach the Vatican.

I thank the Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, who was the first to sign the book of condolences at the Nunciature. I thank the dean of the diplomatic corps, the ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions who wrote to the Nunciature and came to offer their condolences.

I would also like to say a special thanks to His Grace Archbishop Gordon in his capacity as Archbishop of Port of Spain for this Mass and also in his capacity as President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference for all the prayers said in the region for the Holy Father, Pope Francis. I thank the Heads and our brothers and sisters of other religions for their support and prayers.

The world will always remember Pope Francis as the pope of the poor, the pope of the peripheries, the pope of mercy and the pope of synodality. There are many more things for which Pope Francis will be remembered not only within the Catholic Church, but also in the eyes of a world that has recognised in his person a honest leadership, committed to those who do not count and who run the risk of suffering the abandonment and indifference of a world that, in many cases, prefers to ignore or forget instead of seeking solutions and recognising responsibilities.

He reminded us Christians of the immense gift of faith by which we share in the joy of the Gospel, called to be witnesses to the power of the Risen One in our lives in order to reach out to all those who need to hear and experience the joy of God.

He invited us to assume our responsibility towards creation, that marvellous work of God that has been entrusted to our hands, reminding us of the moral obligation we have towards all our brothers and sisters who live in this precious planet, to care for it, and perpetuate it so that future generations can develop in fullness and harmony, in communion with God’s work.

He reminded us of the urgency of learning to listen, of becoming aware of the need to walk together, opening paths for authentic, sincere, and loyal dialogue, as the only possible way to face the challenges and urgencies that our world poses to us. That is synodality.

In the midst of a polarised world, threatened by selfishness, indifference, violence and death, Pope Francis reminded us until the last minute of his life of the obligation to build peace, to fight for justice, to invent ways to reconciliation and coexistence, to vindicate that war is never good, and that the cause of man is and will always be the cause of God.

I have met Pope Francis four times, and the last two visits left a lasting impression on me. In fact, along with three companions from the Vatican Diplomacy Academy, we were the first to go on pastoral missions after our training in Rome and before beginning work in the nunciatures. This was a decision by Pope Francis to allow Vatican diplomats to experience the suffering and poverty in the peripheries of the world.

Before leaving for our missions, Pope Francis wanted to meet with us, to officially send us on a mission and give us his blessing. He had decided to send me on a missionary experience in the Amazon rainforest, saying ironically, if you survive, next year come back, and tell me about your experience. For many reasons, I was not able to go to the Amazon rainforest.

A year later, I went to tell him about my beautiful missionary experience in a favela in Brazil. He replied: it’s a pity that you were not able to go to the Amazon rainforest, but I hope that at least you learned to drink caixaça in Brazil. Actually, I did.

And when we were about to leave his office, after knowing that we had faced challenges as he wanted, he said to us with a smile: please, pray for me, not against but in favour.

Let us entrust his soul to the infinite mercy of God, whom he served so faithfully.

May he rest in the peace of the Lord. Amen.