Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
\nThere are moments in the life of the Church when time seems to stand still. Moments
\nin which the heart grows silent, the gaze lifts, and the Spirit invites us to contemplate the
\nmystery that sustains all things, visible and invisible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One of those moments came on Easter Monday. As the Alleluias of Easter \u2014 the song of life
\nvictorious over death \u2014 still echoed throughout the world, the news of Pope Francis\u2019 passing
\ntouched the conscience of humanity, deeply stirring our hearts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Unexpected news, arriving like a whisper at the dawn of Easter. Just the day before, the Holy
\nFather \u2014 though physically weakened \u2014 had once more desired to offer the world his
\nmessage of hope. Even the doctors held hope. But the Lord, who searches hearts and knows
\nthe days of man, chose for him the hour of return. The Pasch within the Pasch. A departure
\nfrom this life just as the Church was celebrating the Life that knows no end.
\nOn Easter Monday, the liturgy brings us to the tomb of Christ. The women, first witnesses of
\nthe Risen One, discover with wonder that the stone has been rolled away. They do not find
\nthe body of the Master, but receive the Word that changes everything: \u201cHe is not here. He is
\nrisen.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Even the death of Pope Francis, in the light of this proclamation, does not appear as a defeat,
\nbut is revealed as a passage \u2014 a threshold crossed in the light of the Resurrection. For him
\ntoo, the stone has been rolled away. He has left behind a world marked by conflict, violence,
\npoverty, and loneliness, to enter that Kingdom which he preached, believed in, and loved \u2014
\nwith the strength of a father and the meekness of a servant.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
His pontificate was a sign of the Gospel lived. He steered Peter\u2019s boat through stormy seas,
\nbut never lost his course. He safeguarded the faith, promoted dialogue, sought out the
\nperipheries, and dried many tears. He spoke to the heart of contemporary humanity in the
\nlanguage of mercy. With disarming humility, with courage in the storms, and with patience
\nin trials, he brought the Gospel to the nations. In him, we saw the tenderness of a father and
\nthe steadfastness of a shepherd. He was unafraid of fragility, and never fled from the truth.
\nFor us Armenians, as for many peoples of the world, he was a voice for justice, a companion
\nin suffering, a guide toward peace. Already as Bishop in Argentina, he had drawn near to our
\npeople, welcoming a khachkar into the Cathedral in memory of the Armenian Genocide \u2014 a
\nsilent and powerful gesture, one that already spoke of the fidelity to memory and justice that
\nwould later mark his pontificate. With heartfelt words he defended the rights of our brothers
\nand sisters in Nagorno-Karabakh, supported efforts for reconciliation, and shared in the grief
\nof our losses, never failing to offer his fatherly gaze.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During the liturgical time of Easter, the Armenian Church reads from the Gospel of John and
\nthe Acts of the Apostles. In these readings, we encounter the Spirit who guides the Church,
\nand the Word made flesh in the lives of the disciples. In the same way, the life of Pope Francis
\nwrote living pages of the Gospel. He made gestures that spoke louder than words, and uttered
\nwords that lit hope in the hearts of many.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now, we envision him in silence, standing before the Lord, in the peace of one who \u201chas
\nfought the good fight, has finished the race, has kept the faith\u201d (2 Tim 4:7). He wished to keep
\nnothing for himself. He gave everything. And now, we pray to the Father to hear with him the
\nvoice of the eternal Shepherd: \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of
\nyour Lord\u201d (Mt 25:21).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
May the Lord receive his soul among the righteous, where there is no more sorrow or weeping,
\nbut eternal life (Rev 21:4), and may He accompany, with the light of His Spirit, the Eminent
\nCardinals who will gather to elect the new Successor of Peter, so that \u2014 guided by the wisdom
\nof the Holy Spirit and under the protection of Mary, Mother of the Church \u2014 they may choose
\na Shepherd according to God\u2019s heart, able to hear the cry of the world and to serve His Church
\nwith love.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cHe has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith\u201d
\n\u2026to Pope Francis, Shepherd in the storm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,44,36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24254"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24254"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26200,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24254\/revisions\/26200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/armenianchurchco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}