Pope on All Souls' Day: God has opened the way to eternal life

Pope lays white roses on the Nicolini family tomb @Vatican Media

Source: Vatican Media

Pope Leo presided over Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed on Sunday 2 November in Rome's Verano cemetery. He underscored how the proclamation of life - eternal life, given by Christ - resounds among the headstones and tombs of the departed: God "will destroy death forever. Indeed, he has already conquered it, opening for us the way to eternal life by passing through the valley of death during his Paschal mystery. Thus, united to him, we too may enter and pass through the valley of death."

Meditation, Hope, Charity, and Silence - the four monumental statues of Verano's cemetery created in the 19th century by Vespignani - seemed to watch over the Pope's entrance into the Quadriportico, which marks the passage between the city streets and this open-air museum, unique in its kind for its sculptures and historical-artistic treasures. A city within a city, covering 83 hectares and enclosed by its distinctive high walls, marked the place where the Pope wished to celebrate the 2 November liturgy, continuing the tradition begun by his predecessor, Pope Francis, in 2013, when he visited the cemetery in the San Lorenzo area to pray for the dead. This custom continued in the following years, with Masses celebrated in other cemeteries in Rome, Anzio, Nettuno, and surrounding areas.

Pope Leo walked through the Pincetto section of the cemetery while the Requiem chanted by the Schola Cantorum could be heard. The entire area had been cordoned off since morning; around 2,500 men, women, the elderly, nuns, and priests rushed to take their seats in the square bordered by rows of headstones and small mausoleums, by statues and funerary chapels. All around, there are figures of angels of sorrow, weeping Madonnas, sculptures of women holding their children, busts, arches, chapels, even a statue of the Capitoline wolf. There are colour and black-and-white photographs, some dating back to the early years of this century. Just a few steps from the simple stage set up for the papal celebration - where the gilded altar stood out - and before the tombs of historical figures, writers and intellectuals, artists and musicians, lies the sepulchre inscribed in block letters 'Garibaldi,' Ricciotti Garibaldi, the son of the historic leader, along with other descendants.

Pope Leo XIV arrived early, at 3.45pm., greeted by a restrained applause - mindful of the setting and the solemn occasion. Accompanied by Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, the Pope greeted outside the cemetery Silvia Scozzese, the deputy mayor of Rome, along with other officials. His first gesture was to pause before a tomb, one of the first at the cemetery's entrance, on which, faded by time, is the inscription Antonia Coccia Nicolini and family. On the marble, Leo placed a bouquet of white roses, paused for a few moments in prayer, and gave his blessing as a symbolic tribute to all the departed buried at Verano.

The Pope's homily begins with their remembrance: "Although they left us on the day when they died, we continue to carry them with us in our hearts, and their memory remains always alive within us amid our daily lives."

"Often, something brings them to mind, and we recall experiences we once shared with them. Many places, even the fragrance of our homes, speak to us of those we have loved and who have gone before us, vividly maintaining their memory for us."

Today's celebration, however, is not meant to be merely a moment of remembrance: "Christian faith, founded upon Christ's Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future." Thus, "it is not so much about looking back, but instead looking forward towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us" in which death is eliminated forever.

It is this "hope for the future" that gives meaning to remembrance and prayer: "This is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism," Pope Leo XIV emphasized.

"It is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life."

Recalling one of his recent catecheses from a General Audience, the Pope said that Christ is "the destination of our journey." He "guarantees our arrival, leading us home, where we are awaited, loved and saved."

And that final destination will be "an encounter of love." It is the same love with which God created us, the same love by which His Son "saves us from death," the same love through which "he desires that we live forever with him and with our loved ones." That is why, the Pope underscored, "we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us" as "we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy."

"Love conquers death. In love, God will gather us together with our loved ones. And, if we journey together in charity, our very lives become a prayer rising up to God, uniting us with the departed, drawing us closer to them as we await to meet them again in the joy of eternal life."

From here comes the invitation to entrust ourselves to "the hope that does not disappoint": "Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light. Let us allow the Lord's promise of eternal life to resound in our hearts. He will destroy death forever," Pope Leo underscored. He concluded, "the Lord awaits us, and when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us."

"May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades."

The Prayer for Eternal Rest concluded the celebration, as the late afternoon darkness already descended among the cypresses of Verano. The Pope imparted his blessing to all present: some bowed in prayer; others standing, capturing the moment on their smartphones; others still holding flowers, ready to visit the graves of their loved ones.

On his return to the Vatican, Pope Leo went to the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica for a moment of private prayer for the deceased Popes.

LINKS

Read Pope Leo's full homily: www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20251102-messa-fedeli-defunti.html

Watch the Verano Cemetary Mass: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zel58qGhdW4