His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Together with a Delegation of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Participated in the Funeral of Pope Francis
On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the funeral of Pope Francis was held at the Vatican. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, together with a delegation of bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, participated in the service.
The funeral was attended by Bishop Borys Gudziak, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Philadelphia; Cardinal Mykola Bychok, Bishop of the Eparchy of Melbourne; Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Bishop of the Eparchy of the Holy Family in London; and Bishop Hryhoriy Komar, Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Exarchate in Italy.
From five o’clock in the morning, the streets around St. Peter’s Square began filling with the faithful. Many had spent the entire night waiting at the checkpoints to secure access to the square. According to law enforcement agencies, approximately 250,000 people gathered to bid farewell to Pope Francis: 50,000 directly in the square, with the rest in the surrounding streets where they watched the service on large screens.
Before the service began, His Beatitude Sviatoslav greeted the Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a conversation with the Ukrainian Head of State, he thanked him for his personal presence and emphasized the special significance of Pope Francis for the UGCC and the Ukrainian people.
A funeral Mass then followed, presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was joined by other cardinals, about a thousand bishops, and several thousand priests.
Reflecting on Pope Francis, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted, “We will always remember him as the Pope of mercy and the Pope of hope, as the Pope who proclaimed the Catholic Church a Church that welcomes everyone, calling it a field hospital that heals wounds.”
He also emphasized that Pope Francis would be remembered as the Pope who prayed for Ukraine:
“As Christ’s vicar on earth, as the successor of the Apostle Peter, he did everything in his power to stop the war. Pope Francis always emphasized: whenever humanity starts a war, it loses, because after every war the world goes downhill.”
The Holy Mass was attended by representatives of other Christian denominations, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as delegations from other religious communities and some 160 official representatives from various countries around the world, more than half of whom were monarchs or presidents.
After the service, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, together with the heads of other Eastern Catholic Churches, prayed the Resurrection Panakhyda at the coffin of Pope Francis.
The funeral procession then proceeded to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Pope Francis had requested to be buried. Along the entire route, tens of thousands of people accompanied the Pontiff with applause and prayers to his final resting place.
photo courtesy: Vatican Media
