Notes from Rome By the Most Rev. Joe Roesch, MIC Clearly, he had very much wanted to serve as the shepherd of his flock until the very end, and God allowed him to do that despite his sicknesses and sufferings in his final months in office. On Holy Thursday, he had gone to a prison and personally greeted 30 prisoners. He told them that he couldn’t wash their feet, but he wanted to be with them to encourage them, to pray for them and for their families. Pope Francis will be remembered for his humility, for his tireless service to the poorest, and for his desire to go to the forgotten areas so that everyone would feel included. He was certainly not one to do things just because they had always been done that way. He was a trailblazer who had his convictions and was not afraid to shake things up a bit and follow the path on which he felt that the Lord was leading him. I was in St. Peter’s Square when he was elected on March 13, 2013. He looked a little overwhelmed at first. He asked everyone to pray for Pope Benedict, which he did together with all of us in the Square. Then, before imparting his first apostolic blessing on the Church, he asked us for a favor. He asked us to pray for him in silence, and he bowed down while we prayed. It was like a prayer meeting, and I was profoundly moved by the moment. Throughout his pontificate, at every general audience, every Angelus message, and on many other occasions, he continued to ask the Church to pray for him. I was always impressed with his recognition that he couldn’t do his job without the prayerful support of his flock. And he kept asking for our prayers on every occasion. He followed in the footsteps of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict by putting a special emphasis on the message of the Divine Mercy. In his papal bull to inaugurate the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis declared that “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy.” He said that those words sum up the mystery of our Christian faith. It was during that Holy Year that he canonized our Founder, St. Stanislaus Papczyński, for which we Marians are extremely grateful. I had the privilege of meeting Pope Francis three times and, on each occasion, he impressed me with his simplicity, his friendliness, and his kindness. Pope Francis also had a great love for and devotion to Our Lady. He would visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on many occasions, especially before and after his apostolic journeys. He was buried at St. Mary Major according to his wishes. I visit the basilica every two weeks for Confession when I am in Rome, so now I will be able to pray at the tomb of Pope Francis. He always asked for our prayers during his pontificate, and I am sure that he will want us to continue to do so after his death. May he rest in peace! Amen! REST IN PEACE On Easter Monday morning, I had just sat down to have coffee with some religious sisters in Rome when we heard of the death of Pope Francis. On Easter Sunday, he had given his last blessing to the Church as he had so ardently wanted to do, just after his Urbi et Orbi message (to the City of Rome and to the World) had been read for him. Then he got into the Popemobile to greet the pilgrims there, which turned out to be a final farewell. The Most Rev. Joe Roesch, MIC, is the Superior General of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. He lives in Rome. Listen to his podcasts, including “Saint Faustina’s Diary in a Year,” on TheDivineMercy.org/podcasts and DivineMercyPlus.org/podcasts. Marian Helper • Summer 2025 • Marian.org 7 © Vatican Media Father Joe talks about the tomb of Pope Francis.
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