Hundreds gather in memory of Pope Francis
Thursday 24th April 2025Hundreds of Catholics from across Lancashire gathered together yesterday evening in loving memory of Pope Francis.
St Mary’s church in Bamber Bridge welcomed people of all ages wishing to pay tribute to the pope in a special Mass celebrated by Bishop John.
Fr Mark Harold, parish priest at St Mary’s, reflected on how – for many Catholics – the death of Pope Francis “feels like the loss of a true father”.
He continued by reminding us of the words the Holy Father shared with the faithful on so many occasions: “please remember to pray for me.”
Parishioners, priests, school pupils, and passers-by honoured the pope last night by doing just that, filling the beautiful church as many came to be part of the moving liturgy.
In his homily, Bishop John paid his own tribute to Pope Francis, describing him as a “pope of his time”, who called each and every one of us to be active in faith to make Christ present in the world around – particularly to those facing the challenges of war, poverty, injustice, the impact of climate change, and those forced to flee their homes.
He said: “Pope Francis had only been pope for a few months when he addressed bishops in South America, saying: “It’s no good you lot sitting in your cathedrals – even with the doors open – waiting for people to come in. Do you have the courage to go out there and to walk with people even while they’re walking away from the Church?””
Bishop John reminded us that this was the challenge Pope Francis presented to each and every Catholic during his pontificate: to walk with each other through the joys, challenges, and tragedies of life to bring the message of Christian hope to all through our words and through our actions.
But however difficult that might seem in times of conflict and hardship, Bishop John reminded us of a wonderful image that Pope Francis shared, highlighting the importance of each and every action.
He said: “Just recently, he shared a wonderful image, saying: ‘All the rivers, reservoirs, and dams of this world are made up of single drops of water and without those drops, there would be no rivers, reservoirs, and dams. Each drop of water is essential.’ So let’s be those drops of water, living out our faith so that we can make a real difference to our world.”
Bishop John continued by paying tribute to Pope Francis’ commitment to dialogue and building relationships, always seeking to unite with others through shared values of hope, peace, justice, and love.
He said: “He was so good at uniting that sense of common faith among people of different faiths. When you look at any of the world’s major faiths, there are so many things that we agree on. We don’t need to concentrate on our differences, we need to focus on the goodness of humanity, the depth of humanity.”
Bishop John ended by giving thanks for the papacy of Pope Francis, a papacy that achieved so much in bringing people together and leaving behind a legacy of teachings that can inspire and motivate each and every one of us to be true Pilgrims of Hope.
Tagged | Bishop John | Parishes | Pope Francis
