By Cécile Martin-Houlgatte
When you have the grace to live in the Holy Land, you never cease to be surprised to see that everything that has to do with the faith and the Church takes on an extremely deep and lively meaning, especially ecclesial events. We are in the “Mother Church”!
Our community usually takes advantage of the first days of Easter to have a time of conviviality and rest. This year we planned to spend them in the hostelry of the Stella Maris Monastery, on Mount Carmel. When on Easter Monday morning we learned that Pope Francis had died, we felt a call to cancel the plans to stay in Jerusalem, united as an ecclesial family in the mourning and joy of the Christian resurrection. At this moment, we begin to live an unforgettable Christian experience in the Holy Land. What happened?
Funeral Mass for the soul of Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre:
In front of the tomb of Christ, a portrait of Pope Francis. Our Patriarch, Cardinal Pizzaballa, presides over the Mass. Many concelebrating priests are present. Pastors of the different Christian confessions, diplomats, faithful, journalists from different media. All united raising together prayers of gratitude to Pope Francis and entrusting his soul. And this happened in the octave of Easter, in the very place of the Resurrection. A moment of profound communion, where the mystery of death and eternal life take on an inexpressible light and power.
Condolences:
After this Mass, as a community of believers, we walked through the alleys of Christian Jerusalem until we reached the seat of the Patriarchate. There, the Patriarch receives the condolences of each person and community present. We had the opportunity to write a message and sign the book of condolences, which would then be sent to the Holy See. At another time we were able to go to the Nunciature and express our condolences to the Nuncio, as is customary on these occasions.
“Sending” of our Patriarch to the Conclave:
At the end of the moment of condolences, someone tells us that we have the opportunity to pray with the Patriarch before he leaves for the airport for the Conclave. He leads the brief prayer in the chapel of the Patriarchate and encourages us to unity and trust in the action of the Holy Spirit. There, about fifty people gathered, we ended with the singing of the Regina Caeli. It was going to be his first Conclave, and there was no lack of someone who shouted “Long live the Pope” provoking widespread laughter.
The Christian mourning for the Vicar of Christ in the Holy Land moved me greatly, first of all, because of how it unfolded: I would never have imagined experiencing the funeral Mass and the condolences for our Good Shepherd Pope Francis in the place of the Resurrection of Christ. Also because of the feelings they awakened: both in me and in the Christian community that lived this day, I was moved to see how we were evolving in the process of what it is to live a mourning: from the gravity and sadness of the beginning of the funeral Mass, through the peace and joy of the resurrection, to the joy of hope in a God who cares for and loves his Church, watching over her with a new Pope.