Dear Friends in the Risen Redeemer,

The Redemptorists of the Denver Province join the Universal Church in mourning the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. As a dedicated Pastor longing for “a poor Church, and for the poor,” who demonstrated closeness to the suffering, Pope Francis advanced a vision of the Church closely aligned with the charism and mission of the Redemptorists. In Pope Francis, we Redemptorists found inspiration, friendship, and a kindred spirit as we sought to follow his call to serve those in the peripheries of society. Through his preaching and his writings, Pope Francis reminded us of the joy of the gospel, and the Lord’s desire for closeness with all, with no one excluded. Today, we join people of goodwill worldwide in praying for Pope Francis while entrusting the future of our Church to the will of the Holy Spirit. Above all, we give thanks to God for the gift of Pope Francis’s ministry and legacy. May we never lose the courage and conviction to walk alongside those cast aside by society, especially the poor and vulnerable. As Pope Francis shared on Easter morning, the day before he returned to the House of the Lord, “All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey. Together with the risen Jesus, they become pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the victory of love and of the disarmed power of Life.”

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
And may perpetual light shine upon him.
May the soul of Pope Francis and those of all the faithful departed
Through the mercy of God

Rest in peace. 

 

 

Yours in Easter Hope,

Very Rev. Kevin Zubel, C.Ss.R.
Provincial Superior