Shrewsbury's Roman Catholic Bishop urges prayer for cardinals choosing Pope's successor

In a pastoral letter read at every Mass on the Sunday after Easter, Rev Mark Davies also paid tribute to Pope Francis who died in the Vatican on Easter Monday at the age of 88 and whose Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Peter’s Square yesterday (April 26).

Bishop Davies remembered Francis for his Year of Mercy of 2015, which witnessed many returning to confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and recalled how “in 2020 a deserted Saint Peter’s Square at the height of the global pandemic... Pope Francis stood alone holding the Blessed Sacrament in blessing to the world”. 

The Bishop also directed the minds of the faith to Dilexit Nos: On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, the recent and final encyclical letter of Pope Francis that urged the renewal of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Bishop Davies asked Catholics to pray with urgency for the late Pope, reminding them that his was the wish of Francis himself, a pontiff whose insistent plea had been: “Please pray for me!”

Bishop Davies said: “In the hour of death, it is always our first duty of charity to pray for the souls of our loved ones departed. This Sunday we must pray for the soul of the man who became Pope Francis for us.” 

It was also important, the Bishop said in his letter, to pray for the Cardinals assembling in Rome to elect a successor to Pope Francis at a conclave that will open after the conclusion of a period of mourning. 

Bishop Davies said: “As Pope Francis, the 265th Successor of the Apostle Peter, now goes with all our prayers, we must pray for the Cardinals entrusted with the responsibility of choosing a new Pope.

"This task is undertaken not with Hollywood intrigue, but in an atmosphere of prayer and recollection, which reminds each Cardinal of the final account he must give to our Lord.

"In our lifetimes, we have been blessed with remarkable men chosen to be our Pope, some numbered among the greatest saints. They were men gifted with great minds and pastoral hearts, communicating the Gospel and the Catholic faith to all humanity with unfailing concern for souls.

"Yet, each man was also conscious of his weakness and limitations and asked the help of our prayers in this awesome calling. Today we must pray for the man soon to be chosen as the next successor of Peter. May he fulfil his mission to confirm us in faith and be a true shepherd for the entire flock of the Lord entrusted to his care.”