Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Pope León XIV Marks All Souls’ Day at Rome Cemetery With Message That ‘No One Is Lost’

The observance was his first as pontiff, sustaining a practice of cemetery prayer rooted in his predecessor’s example.

Overview

  • At the midday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, León XIV cited John 6:39 to affirm that God wills that no one be lost and that all be raised on the last day.
  • Later at Rome’s Verano cemetery, he prayed for “the dead of whom no one remembers” and told mourners that charity conquers death.
  • He described cemetery visits as an invitation to memory and hopeful waiting rather than melancholy, anchoring grief in the promise of resurrection.
  • Reporters noted this marked his first participation in the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed since becoming pope, continuing a tradition associated with Pope Francis.
  • In a subsequent Mass of suffrage at St. Peter’s, he urged hope in the face of deaths of the innocent, including children, stressing that even the most tragic losses do not thwart Christian hope.