Requiem Mass for Pontiff's soul celebrated at Basilica of Holy Sepulchre (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided at a requiem Mass for Pope Francis’s soul on April 23 in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, built on the site of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Father Francesco Patton, OFM, the Custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land, preached the homily.

Following the Mass, as Cardinal Pizzaballa departed for Rome, he said:

It is a moment during which we need to be united in prayer, first for me, because this is a time in which I carry a great and important responsibility. And we must all pray for the Church, for we are a part of a big body which is universal Church—the Catholic Church.

I am sure that your prayers, all together, will bring the right choices for the good of the universal Church.