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It is with sadness that we receive the news of the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis
at age 88. Pope Francis gave Catholics and indeed the entire world a tremendous witness
to the love that Jesus Christ bears for the poor, the weak, the neglected and forgotten, and
indeed all those in need. Even in when experiencing great personal suffering earlier this
year during his hospitalization he called the Catholic Parish in the Gaza Strip daily, showing
his personal solidarity and the closeness of Jesus Christ to those caught amid war. His
calls for peace and his enjoining the faithful to pray for peace on the various occasions of
war during his twelve-year pontificate were a true witness to Jesus Christ the Prince of
Peace.
The great personal humility of Pope Francis and his love of the poor inspired even
those who did not share his Christian faith and is a reminder to us of our own call to be
witness to the love of God in the world. Pope Francis has passed from this world at the very
time of year when we as disciples of Jesus Christ celebrate the victory of Christ over death
and the new and eternal life to which we are invited through the mercy of God. We pray that
Pope Francis, who worked tirelessly to serve God here on earth and who gave such great
witness to the tender compassion that the Lord Jesus bears all humanity find rest in his
Father’s house.
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