Many traveled to Rome for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was postponed after Pope Francis died
VATICAN CITY — For thousands of young teens who traveled to Rome for the Jubilee of Teenagers, the announcement of Pope Francis’ death came as a shock.
For many, the joy of commemorating the Jubilee Year dedicated to hope was suddenly mingled with grief at the loss of the pontiff, who died April 21, and uncertainty about how it would affect their pilgrimage to Rome.
“We have been preparing for the Jubilee since January,” 22-year-old Vincenzo Pirico, who was accompanying a group of teens from the central Italian city of Pisa, said April 27. “When we received the announcement of the Holy Father’s death, the spirit with which we participated (these days) truly changed.”
Gustavo Molina, a young man from Quito, Ecuador, said the news of the pope’s death felt “like a cold shower.”
However, for him and the group of teens he accompanied, grief turned to gratitude for the opportunity to be in Rome to pay their respects and say goodbye to the first Latin American pope.
“We were lucky to be here,” Molina said. “Everyone was still active, laughing, trying to stay as united as possible in this moment of mourning for the pope.”
“The important thing is that we are all together to give one last honor to our dear pope because he was very much loved, especially in the Hispanic community.”
Not long after the pope’s death was announced, the Vatican said the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Teenagers would not include the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to become a saint, but it would be a memorial Mass instead.
Pope Francis had approved the decree for the canonization of Blessed Acutis on May 23, 2024, and announced the date for his canonization at the end of November.
The late pontiff’s April 26 funeral marked the beginning of the “novendiali,” a nine-day period of mourning in which memorial Masses are celebrated each day at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Despite the period of mourning, tens of thousands filled the main road — Via della Conciliazione — that led to a jam-packed St. Peter’s Square. Many were waving flags, singing and applauding.
According to the Vatican press office, an estimated 200,000 people were present for the memorial Mass.
“I’m sure Pope Francis is looking down on this day, and his heart is filled with joy because he calls us to a Jubilee of hope. And this certainly is a Jubilee of hope, isn’t it?” Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia said.
The archbishop said the memorial Mass was a fitting tribute to a pope who loved, and was loved, by young people.
“Pope Francis said that these young people are not the hope of the future; he actually said they are the now of God. And they’re certainly giving witness to that here today,” the archbishop said. “It’s a great blessing.”
When asked about his thoughts on the Church’s future in the coming days before the conclave, Archbishop Nelson said that it was an “exciting time for the Church” and is confident that, like Pope Francis, the next pontiff will be exactly what the world needs.
“I will confess, with Pope Francis’ death, it was a moment where I was kind of confused; in the sense that I wasn’t expecting it. And it honestly felt a little bit too coincidental at first,” said 19-year-old Fayshia Donelly, a pilgrim from the Diocese of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Briah Ryan, another pilgrim from that group, said that despite the sadness of the pope’s death, she was grateful for the chance to be “a part of this historic time” and that the pilgrimage has been a time to learn about the process of choosing a new pope which “is all very new to me.”
“I find it to be an incredible experience and it’s going to be something I’m going to remember the rest of my life,” she said.
Father Andrea Filippucci, who led nearly 100 pilgrims from the U.S. Virgin Islands, said the pilgrimage was a “time of prayer” for Pope Francis and “for the Holy Spirit to call the right man to lead the Church during this time.”
“Our pilgrimage was first based on hope, on passing through the Holy Doors, on getting an indulgence, and that was kind of the theme,” the Italian priest said, adding that upon the pope’s death, the theme switched to reflect on St. Peter and “the beautiful history God does” with him.
Peter was “not a superhero, but he’s somebody who many times doubts and makes a mess, and yet God loves him. So, that’s a great hope for us,” Father Filippucci said.
“It gave us the opportunity to speak about St. Peter (not only) as the first bishop of the Church, but also as an image for us Christians on this journey that God doesn’t ask us to be perfect, but he asks us to lean on Him and to trust in Him,” he said.
