A Prayer on the Passing of Pope Francis

Holy Father Pope Francis,
we thank you for your service to the church
that was entrusted to you by the Triune God.
You opened new paths of communion
between each member of the Body,
and you encouraged us to dream of new horizons
and to grasp that the root of the gospel is joy.
From your place of influence
as a sign of visible unity,
you showed us the way of servant leadership,
bending to take the lowest place
and lift up those who had fallen.
You challenged us to remember that the poor,
the outcast, the marginalized
whom society discards as having no value
bear too the face of Christ
and are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Following the example of your namesake Francis,
you held up the beauty of God’s creation
not as something to be exploited,
but as the place of our salvation
where we discover the interconnectedness of life.
We pray at the departing of your soul
that you be taken up into the loving arms of your Father,
and be received in the peace and mercy
that were your watchwords here on earth
and are now revealed to you in all of their fullness
through Christ our Lord. Amen.