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Here is the complete text of the homily of the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, during the funeral mass of Pope Francis in Piazza di San Pietro in the Vatican on April 26, 2025:
In this majestic square of San Pietro, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and has chaired great encounters in the last twelve 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 grave, but in the father’s house, in a life of happiness that will not end.
On behalf of the College of Cardinals, I cordially thank all of you for your presence. With a profound emotion, I extend respectful and felt greetings thanks to the heads of state, the heads of government and the official delegations that came from many countries to express their affection, veneration and esteem for our late Holy Father.
The outburst of the affection to which we have witnessed in the last few days after his disappearance from this land to eternity tells us how much the deep pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts.
The final image we have of him, which will remain engraved in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of the Basilica of San Pietro. Then he went down to this square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter mass while riding in the open popular.
With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved pontiff to God, so that he can grant him eternal happiness in the luminous 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 resounded, asking the first of the apostles: “Peter, do you love me more than these?” Peter’s answer was ready and sincere: “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you!” Jesus then entrusted the great mission: “Give my sheep to eat”. This will be the constant task of Peter and his
successors, a service of love in the footsteps of Christ, our teacher and the Lord, who “did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a redemption for many” (Mk 10:45).
Despite his fragility and his suffering towards the end, Pope Francis has chosen to follow this self -produced path until the last day of his earthly life. He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the good shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving his life for them. And he made him with strength and serenity, close to his flock, the Church of God, aware of the words of Jesus mentioned by the apostle Paul: “is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by Conclave on March 13, 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he already had many years of experience in religious life in the society of Jesus and, above all, has been enriched by twenty years of pastoral ministry in the archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as auxiliary, then as Coadjutor and, above all, as acolical pasta.
The decision to take the name Francis immediately seemed to indicate the pastoral plan and the style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, looking for inspiration from the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.
He maintained his temperament and its form of pastoral leadership and, through its resolute personality, immediately left the mark on the governance of the Church. He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a clear attention to those who are in difficulty, giving themselves without measure, especially for the marginalized, the minimum among us. Him
He was a pope among people, with an open heart to everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.
With its characteristic vocabulary and language, rich in images and metaphors, it has always tried to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the Gospel. He did it by offering a response guided by the light of faith and encouraging us to live as Christians between challenges and contradictions in recent years, which he loved to describe as an “epochal change”. He had great spontaneity and an informal way of facing everyone, even those far from the Church.
Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis really shared the anxieties, suffering and hopes of this globalization time. He gave himself of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching the hearts of people directly and immediately.
His welcome and listening charism, combined with a way of behavior in line with today’s sensitivity, touched the hearts and tried to awaken moral and spiritual sensitivity. Evangelization was the guiding principle of its pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he broaden the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. It is a joy that fills the heart of all those who rely on God with confidence and hope.
The guiding thread of his mission was also the belief 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 great anxieties that tear the contemporary world to pieces; A church capable of bending over each person, regardless of their beliefs or conditions and to heal their wounds.
His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced people are countless. His insistence in working on behalf of the poor was constant.
It is significant that Pope Francis’ first trip was to Lampedusa, an island that symbolizes the tragedy of emigration, with thousands of people drowning at sea. In the same way, it was his journey to Lesbo, together 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.
Of his 47 Ardui Apostolic Travel, the one in Iraq in 2021, challenging all risk, will remain particularly memorable. That difficult apostolic journey was a conditioner on the open wounds of the Iraqi people, who had suffered so much from the inhuman actions of ISIS. It was also an important journey for an interreligious dialogue, another significant dimension of his pastoral work. With his Apostolic Journey of 2024 in four countries in Asia-Oceania, the Pope reached “the most peripheral suburbs in the world”.
Pope Francis always put the Gospel of Mercy in the center, repeatedly emphasizing that God never gets tired of forgiving us. He always forgives, whatever the situation of the person who asks for forgiveness and returns to the right path.
He asked for the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy to highlight 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 “the culture of waste”, he spoke of the culture of the meeting and solidarity. The theme of fraternity crossed all its pontificate with vibrant tones. In his encyclical letter brothers, all, he wanted to revive a world aspiration to fraternity, because we are all children of the same father who is in paradise. He often reminded us with force that we all belong to the same human family.
In 2019, during his journey to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis signed a document on the human fraternity for peace in the world and living together, remembering the common paternity of God. By contacting men and women all over the world, in his encyclical letter Laudato he attracted attention to our duties and shared responsibility for our common home, stating: “Nobody is saved by himself”.
In the face of the foolish wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis has raised his voice incessantly by implementing peace and asking for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions. The war, he said, translates into the death of people and in 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.
“Build Bridges, Not Walls” was an exhortation that has repeated many times and his service of faith as successor of the apostle Peter was always tied to the service of humanity in all its dimensions. Spiritually united with all Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, so that God can 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, now we ask you to pray for us. You may bless the Church, bless Rome and bless the whole world from 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 who seeks truth with a sincere heart and keeps the torch of hope at the top.
