Peace be with you
Michael Kelly
Anyone who has watched a loved one decline couldn’t but be moved by the sight of Pope Francis on Easter Sunday as he blessed us from the balcony. He was a shadow of himself. Little did we know that the Lord would call him home a few hours later. In the end, death came for Francis as a friend. In his 12 years as Pope, he urged us to put the most vulnerable at the heart of our thoughts and prayers. Coming from the global south, where ACN do a lot of our work, he helped focus our attention on a part of the world where the Church is very poor, but is growing rapidly.
Francis always had a lively concern for the suffering Church. In fact, he had been due to host a meeting with ACN pilgrims from all over the world – including Ireland – in early May. It was not to be. He has left us a powerful example, and served the Church faithfully right up to his last breath.
As we mourn Francis and give thanks for his life and example, the Franciscan era gives way to a new Leonine era. We welcome Pope Leo, a man from the United States who has the heart of a missionary. From the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St Peter’s Baslica, he spoke of peace – the peace of Christ that does not disappoint.
In the early days of his Pontificate, Leo XIV has reminded us of the need to fix our gaze definitively on Christ, who is the source of all peace.
Our ACN pilgrims who had travelled to Rome for the encounter with Pope Francis were treated by a turn of providence to being in St Peter’s Square as the white smoke billowed out indicating that a new Pope had been elected. The atmosphere was carnival-like, but it was also prayerful.
One had the very profound sense of not only witnessing history taking place, but also the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the cardinals in giving us a new Pope so quickly and one who could so eloquently speak about God’s unconditional love for each and every person.
As Holy Year pilgrims, we felt blessed to be in St Peter’s Square and to receive the Pope’s first urbi et orbi blessing. In the days since Leo was elected, he has spoken passionately about a cause close to our heart: religious freedom.
He has spoken with great clarity about the world’s need for peace, justice and truth. Please join me in remembering Pope Leo XIV in your prayers as he leads the Church and the world in these challenging times.
May he always speak to us of the love of Jesus, a love that is above all telling – but a love that our world is in such desperate need of.