Dear Friends,

Happy Easter to all! As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in this Easter season, I pray that the joy of the empty tomb becomes a reality in your daily life, and through you, to the life of all you meet.

Our Easter Octave was tinged with deep sadness at the death of Pope Francis, but his death also gave us the opportunity to once again focus on the joy of the resurrection which follows a life lived in the joy of the Gospel.

My immediate reaction to the death of Pope Francis was that we have lost a massive pillar of faith; someone who started the ball rolling towards a healthy, inclusive and merciful Catholic Church, through the process of synodality.

I was blessed to meet him personally twice and I remember him for his warmth and kindness on those occasions.

We remember him also for his Papal Encyclicals, especially Laudato Si’, which showed us that he was not only the Pope of the People, but also the Pope of all Creation and he will long be remembered for being the one who really asked everyone - Cardinals, Bishops, the people of God and beyond - to look after our common home, as well as the people in most need, wherever they might be.

Pope Francis loved humanity, and he made the point often that we are all interconnected and through his focus on synodality, he wanted every baptised Catholic to stand up and work towards the Kingdom of God and the good of all.

I pray that the next pope will follow in the same footsteps as Pope Francis in his synodal thinking and move forward with the implementation of those synodal principles. May the Holy Spirit help the cardinals gathered in the conclave to discern well as they consider the best path forward for the Church in our wounded world today.

Yours in the Word,
Fr Asaeli Rass SVD, Provincial.