At 9.00 this morning, at the Altar of the Cathedra of the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father Leo XIV presided over Holy Mass in memory of the Cardinals and Bishops departed during the course of the year.
The following is the homily delivered by the Pope after the proclamation of the Gospel: Homily of the Holy Father “If anyone serves me, they must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also” ( Jn 12:26). These words of Jesus speak directly to our hearts, calling us to follow him along the path that he himself has walked: the path to glory through the cross.
Along this journey — on which trials and sufferings are not spared us — we are guided and sustained by a promise: that of a communion over which death has no power. Indeed, whoever follows Christ becomes his servant and will always be where he is, precisely because they have followed his path.
Hence Saint Paul affirms: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him” ( 2 Tim 2:11). Dear friends, this certainty of faith and hope inspires our celebration for the repose of the souls of the Cardinals and Bishops who have left us during the past year. We wish to pray to the Lord for them, that he may reward his faithful servants.
Our prayerful remembrance invites us to reflect on the spiritual value of memory. As she was taking leave of her sons, Augustine and Navigius, shortly before her death, Saint Monica said: “One thing only I ask of you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord, wherever you may be” (Saint Augustine, Confessions , IX, 11, 27).