{"id":114602,"date":"2025-05-05T07:03:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/05\/05\/cardinals-hold-final-mass-mourning-pope-francis-ahead-of-conclave\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T07:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:03:26","slug":"cardinals-hold-final-mass-mourning-pope-francis-ahead-of-conclave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/cardinals-hold-final-mass-mourning-pope-francis-ahead-of-conclave\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals hold final mass mourning Pope Francis ahead of conclave"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 \u2014 The Vatican held the final Mass of mourning for Pope Francis on Sunday, 4 May, as the nine-day period of prayer known as the Novemdiales<\/em> came to a close, paving the way for the commencement of the Conclave on Wednesday, 7 May, to elect the next pope.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti presided over the solemn liturgy in Saint Peter\u2019s Basilica, joined by the College of Cardinals. <\/p>\n

In his homily, he reflected on the Gospel reading from John, where the Risen Christ entrusts Peter with his mission, underscoring that \u201cPeter\u2019s mission is love expressed through service to the Church and all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cardinal Mamberti said Pope Francis carried out this mission \u201canimated by the Lord\u2019s love\u201d and remained faithful to it \u201cto the point of exhausting all his strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

He emphasized that this final Novemdiale<\/em> Mass, held on the Third Sunday of Easter, comes at a spiritually poignant time for the Church, as the cardinals prepare to enter into conclave to choose the next Successor of Peter.<\/p>\n

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Highlighting the day\u2019s first reading from Acts\u2014\u201cWe must obey God rather than men\u201d\u2014the French cardinal recalled how Pope Francis had echoed these words throughout his pontificate, boldly proclaiming the joy of the Gospel, the mercy of the Father, and the salvation offered in Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did this through his teachings, his travels, his gestures, and his way of life,\u201d Cardinal Mamberti said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI stood near him on Easter Sunday at the Loggia of the Blessings\u2026 a witness to his suffering, but above all to his courage and determination to serve the People of God until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nVatican fire brigade erects iconic chimney to announce new Pope<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Drawing inspiration from previous pontiffs, he quoted Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s reflection on Peter\u2019s fragile but sincere love and Saint John Paul II\u2019s enduring inner dialogue with Christ. <\/p>\n

Cardinal Mamberti emphasized that Pope Francis, too, followed Jesus with deep awareness of human frailty and reliance on divine grace.<\/p>\n

The homily also touched on the second reading from Revelation, highlighting the theme of adoration\u2014a spiritual posture Pope Francis often championed. <\/p>\n

\u201cAdoration is an essential dimension of the Church\u2019s mission,\u201d Mamberti said, recalling the Pope\u2019s 2024 Epiphany message lamenting the Church\u2019s loss of \u201cthe habit of adoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinal Mamberti concluded by recalling the Pope\u2019s deep devotion to Mary, Salus Populi Romani, before whose icon he prayed 126 times. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow that he rests near the beloved icon,\u201d he said, the faithful are invited to entrust him to Mary\u2019s intercession.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 \u2014 The Vatican held the final Mass of mourning for Pope Francis on Sunday, 4 May, as the nine-day period of prayer known as the Novemdiales came to a close, paving the way for the commencement of the Conclave on Wednesday, 7 May, to elect the next pope. Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}