All Souls' Day: Pope prays for lives "cut short" by war

By Joseph Tulloch

As war continues to rage in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen, and elsewhere, Pope Francis speaks of remembering the dead and hoping for reunion with them in God’s Kingdom.

By Joseph Tulloch

On Thursday, 2 November, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for All Souls' Day at Rome’s Military Cemetery.

In his homily – delivered off-the-cuff, without the aid of notes – the Pope remembered those who have gone before us, particularly those whose lives have been “cut short” by war.

Memory and hope

“A celebration like today,” said Pope Francis, “brings with it two thoughts: memory and hope.”

All Souls’ Day, he said, brings to mind “the people who went before us”, both “those who did good” and “those who did not do so much good, but … were received in God’s mercy.”

At the same time, Pope Francis suggested, the Commemoration brings to mind “hope, which is memory looking forward.”

We hope, he said, for a future encounter in God’s Kingdom “with everyone”, saints and sinners alike.

Lives cut short

The Pope then reflected on the graves of the soldiers buried nearby.

“I would like to dwell on something that happened to me at the entrance [to the cemetery]”, he said.

“I was looking at the age of these fallen soldiers. The majority [died] between 20 and 30. Lives cut short, lives without a future, here.”

“I thought of the parents,” Pope Francis continued, “the mothers who received that letter: 'Madam, I have the honour of informing you that your son is a hero.’ 'Yes, a hero, but they took him away from me.' "

"So many tears in these lives cut short.”