Tag Archives: christianity

The Jesuits of Canada and the U.S. Mourn the Death of Pope Francis

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Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025, at age 88, and the Jesuit Conference joins people around the world in mourning. May he rest in the peace of Christ.  

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio entered the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958, and was ordained a priest on December 13, 1969. As a Jesuit, he served as novice master, a theology professor and provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina (1973-1979). 

Undated photo of Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio , SJ (Jesuit Curia)

He was named auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and archbishop in 1998. Pope Saint John Paul II elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 2001. On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope, making him the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere. Read his full obituary at America magazine. 

Below, read a statement from Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, on Pope Francis’ passing: 

I join the countless people around the world who are mourning the death of the Holy Father Pope Francis at this hour. I pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family, friends and brother Jesuits. While more thorough reflections and examinations of Pope Francis’ legacy will be published in the coming weeks and months, I wanted to offer this brief expression of gratitude for the Holy Father’s extraordinary life of service to God’s people, energized by the love of Christ.

First and foremost, Pope Francis was a pastor. He consistently encouraged bishops, priests and all church ministers to meet people wherever they are in their life journeys, in messiness and complexity and ambiguity, and to help them grow in holiness. The Holy Father’s witness as a shepherd “with the smell of the sheep” from closeness to those on the peripheries of the church and society always inspired and challenged me in my own priestly ministry.

Pope Francis met refugees at Centro Astalli’s soup kitchen in Rome in 2013. (Jesuit Refugee Service)

And Pope Francis indeed went to the peripheries time after time: His first official trip outside of Rome as pope was to visit the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a common entry point to Europe for migrants, to pray and advocate for those who had left their homes and risked their lives in pursuit of a better future. He washed the feet of prisoners at Holy Thursday liturgies. He directed the construction of showers for the homeless in St. Peter’s Square. And he appointed cardinals from regions on the planet that had never seen a cardinal named there before — the Amazon, the Philippines, South Sudan, Myanmar and more. These decisions and hundreds of similar ones made headlines so often during Francis’ papacy that it’s easy for us to take them for granted, but let us not forget how much his boldness surprised us. I believe Pope Francis will always be remembered for how he brought marginalized individuals and communities to the heart of the church.

Pope Francis with Father General Arturo Sosa, SJ (Jesuit Curia)

I also believe future appreciations of Pope Francis’ leadership will reflect the ways his reforms in church governance, the roles of the laity, and the social engagement of the church in service to the world were rooted in the teachings of Vatican II. The “Francis Project,” as it has sometimes been called, was not his own personal vision alone, but one formed by his experiences as a leader in the Latin American church in the decades following the Council.

The distinctly Ignatian influence on Pope Francis’ ministry was also unmistakable. In listening to Pope Francis and reading his writings, it is clear to me how much his thought was marked by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The Spiritual Exercises are a “school of the heart” that help a retreatant to grow in self-knowledge of their gifts, weaknesses and sinfulness while meditating on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Ignatian spirituality is extraordinarily practical; it engages our own hopes, desires, dreams, struggles, joys and sorrows. In works like “Evangelii Gaudium” and “Laudato Si’,” just to name two, Pope Francis offered his own “school of the heart” meditations, inviting all believers to find the joy of the Gospel within their everyday lives and to commit to responding to “the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” as an integral, concrete part of discipleship.

Fr. Brian Paulson, SJ, with Pope Francis

In recent years, the Synod on Synodality emerged as a signature moment of Pope Francis’ outreach toward the peripheries, calling the universal Catholic Church to live a deeper and more inclusive process of listening that includes the voices of all stakeholders. I pray this new mode of dialogue and decision-making continues to develop and take root in the church in the years to come.

Before all else, the Gospel invites us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.
-Pope Francis

I will close this brief reflection with a quote from “Evangelii Gaudium,” the richness of which will continue to make the document a gift to the church for generations. In the quote, as in the exhortation as a whole, we get a sense of what Pope Francis saw as the heart of the spiritual life. “Before all else,” Pope Francis writes, “the Gospel invites us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.” Let us honor Pope Francis by trying to follow that advice every day.

May the Holy Father Pope Francis rest in the peace of Christ, his brother and Lord.

Forgotten Souls in Purgatory/All Souls in Purgatory

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“Nicholas, man of God, look at me,” cried a soul to Nicholas of Tolentino. The young Augustinian priest had just begun to fall asleep when the voice surprised and alarmed him. The soul identified himself as Friar Pellegrino of Osimo, who Nicholas knew when that friar was alive.

“I am tormented in these flames,” Pelligrino lamented. “God did not reject my contrition and instead did not destine me to eternal punishment, which I deserved due to my weakness, but to purgatorial punishment, in virtue of His mercy.”

Then he begged Nicholas to “celebrate a Mass of the Dead for me, so that I may be freed from my torments.” But Nicholas could not because he was assigned to say the monastery’s community Mass.

“Then at least come with me … see our suffering … pity these unfortunates who await your help…If you celebrate Mass for us, most of these people will be liberated,” Pelligrino again pleaded.  Nicholas was then shown a great sea of souls of all ages, sexes and conditions, stretching across the land.

Nicholas prayed all night. In the morning once the monastery’s prior heard his story, he gave Nicholas permission to immediately say the Masses for the Dead. Seven days later, Pelligrino appeared again — this time, accompanied by a victorious multitude also freed.

After that occurrence in the late 13th century, Nicholas spent his years praying and offering Masses for the souls in purgatory. He freed countless numbers. During one Mass, Jesus appeared, thanked him and showed him the souls his Masses had released.

In 1884 Pope Leo XIII declared St. Nicholas of Tolentino universal patron of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Nicholas’s experience wasn’t a one-time event. Nor was it for other saints along the centuries as they, too, heard or saw souls in purgatory pleading for their help.

We may never see or hear a holy soul from purgatory, but we learn what to do from the encounters saints experienced.

Have Masses said for the Holy Souls there. Our family. Friends. Those abandoned. In relation to what Jesus told Faustina, offer up an annoyance without complaining, like standing in a long line in traffic or the supermarket. Pray a Rosary for them. Say short prayers like, “Jesus have mercy on the souls in purgatory.”  Remember what we heard as we grew up — “Offer it up for the holy souls in purgatory.”

Take a minute to pray for a forgotten soul in purgatory!

Pietro Perugino, “Saint Nicholas of Tolentino,” 1507

Here’s How You Can Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory

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We have access to several keys to help rescue the holy souls in purgatory and get them to heaven.

Antonio María Esquivel, “Ánimas del Purgatorio,” 1850
Antonio María Esquivel, “Ánimas del Purgatorio,” 1850 (photo: Public Domain)

Joseph Pronechen BlogsNovember 2, 2019

There’s only one door out of purgatory for the Holy Souls there. It opens only into heaven. But here’s the catch: they can’t open it themselves. We have to open it for them. We have the key.

The question is, will we help unlock it for some of them during this month of November, which the Church dedicates to the Holy Souls?

Here’s the beautiful part: The Church hands us not just one key but a whole ring full of them. We can use any number of them to keep unlocking the door for the single-file lineup of souls who are suffering in purgatory.

They’re all waiting to join the saints in heaven on the other side of the door. They can get there a lot quicker if we unlock that door for them. Notice how the Church puts All Souls Day, Nov. 2, right next to Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day?

So, let’s start with some of the main keys the Church gives us to use. Some work every day, and some work only at a certain time or day, like the one that works from Nov. 1-8 specifically for the souls in purgatory. These are listed in the official Manual of Indulgences (Enchiridion Indulgenarium).

Key for Nov. 1-8

Every year on these eight days the Church grants a plenary indulgence that can be applied only to the souls in purgatory. The faithful can receive this indulgence each of the eight days to apply to a particular soul — a parent, spouse, relative, friend, or anyone even unknown.

How to use this key? On each day from Nov. 1-8 a person seeking the plenary indulgence for a soul must (1) “devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the departed; (2) on All Souls’ Day (or according to the ordinary, on the Sunday preceding it or following it…) devoutly visit a church or an oratory and recite an Our Father and the Creed.”

There are a couple of other requirements that have to be fulfilled, too, which apply to any plenary indulgence. More on this detail a bit later, since it will also apply to other keys.

Just in case, for these same dates, there is a key that is a partial indulgence (for example, maybe a person isn’t able to fulfill all the requirements for a plenary indulgence). Again, for these Nov. 1-8 days, it can be applied only to souls in purgatory and granted for (1) devoutly visiting a cemetery and at least mentally praying for the dead; (2) devoutly reciting lauds or vespers from the Office of the Dead or the prayer, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”

But don’t stop with only these eight days. You have all month to gain indulgences (more on requirements in a moment) to apply to the holy souls sending out their SOS’s (Stop Our Suffering). And you can help them every day of the year too, with other keys.

Mighty Keys for Every Day

These are most accessible, handy keys with a plenary indulgence attached (with the usual conditions) since they will readily open that door. These four can gain that plenary indulgence “each day of the year,” but “no more than once a day.”

  • Eucharistic Adoration. “Visit the Blessed Sacrament for adoration lasting at least a half hour.”
  • Praying the Rosary. “Devoutly recite the Marian Rosary in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, or an association of the faithful, and in general when several of the faithful gather for some honest purpose…”
  • Reading or listening to Sacred Scriptures. “Read the Sacred Scriptures as spiritual reading, from a text approved by a competent authority, and with the reverence due to the divine word, for at least a half an hour; if the time is less, the indulgence will be partial.” Or listen to it being read.
  • Pious exercise of the Way of the Cross. Walk them in church or where legitimately erected.

You choose who the indulgence applies to: either yourself — you cannot give it to another living person — or to a holy soul in purgatory. Remember them this November, and throughout the rest of the year too.

Keys to the Indulgence

We went over the specific requirement for the Nov. 1-8 plenary indulgence, and then for a plenary indulgence that can be gained on any day of the year, one per day, though any of the main four listed.

Here’s a quick refresher of the standard requirements every plenary indulgence must fulfill to become plenary which wipes away all temporal punishment due to sin. Just think of the number of holy souls you help out of purgatory, and in turn what friends they will become helping you get to heaven.

To gain a plenary indulgence you must:

  • Be baptized and in the state of grace, at least at the time the indulgenced work is done.
  • Have “the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.” Otherwise, the indulgence becomes partial, not plenary.

And fulfill these three conditions:

  • Sacramentally confess your sins
  • Receive Holy Communion. (“It is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required”).
  • Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. One Our Father and one Hail Mary fully satisfies this.

One sacramental confession suffices for gaining several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required for each plenary indulgence. According to the most recent Church guidelines on the subject, “it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act.”

Of course, you must also:

  • Perform the prescribed work to which the indulgence is attached.
  • Have at least a general intention to gain the indulgence. You can’t receive an indulgence unintentionally or by accident.

If any part of the requirements is missing, then the indulgence becomes partial. Heaven determines the degree of the partial indulgence.

Helps the Holy Souls and Ourselves

We’re on the receiving end, too, even when we give away the indulgence, plenary or partial, to the holy souls in purgatory. Here’s how.

When Blessed Pope Paul VI updated the enchiridion in 1967, he said that the “aim in granting them is both to help the faithful expiate the punishment due sins and to urge them to works of piety, penance, and charity.”

Then in a 1999 general audience concentrated on indulgences, St. John Paul II explained how the Church “dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints … as it were through indulgences.”

He said it is “the expression of the Church’s full confidence of being heard by the Father when — in view of Christ’s merits and, by his gift, those of Our Lady and the saints — she asks him to mitigate or cancel the painful aspect of punishment by fostering its medicinal aspect through other channels of grace. In the unfathomable mystery of divine wisdom, this gift of intercession can also benefit the faithful departed, who receive its fruits in a way appropriate to their condition.”

Even though we give the indulgence away to a holy soul, here’s how we’re helped as we aim for that plenary indulgence. St. John Paul II pointed to the requirement “that the spiritual condition for receiving a plenary indulgence is the exclusion ‘of all attachment to sin, even venial sin.’”

“Therefore, it would be a mistake to think that we can receive this gift by simply performing certain outward acts. On the contrary, they are required as the expression and support of our progress in conversion.”

So at the same time we’re helping the holy souls and getting that indulgence key to quickly open the door to heaven for them, we’re progressing in our spiritual life.

Two More Keys

Simply put, attend Mass for the Holy Souls. Have a Mass offered for a departed soul. What could be more exceptional help for them.

Then there is the St. Gertrude Prayer specifically to release souls from purgatory: “Eternal Father I offer you the most precious blood of your divine son Jesus, in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

Once you use these keys and help the holy souls to get through that door in purgatory, they will never forget you. They will become your friends praying for you from heaven — and we certainly can use lots of friends helping us from there.

This article originally appeared Nov. 2, 2017, at the Register.

Joseph Pronechen

Joseph Pronechen Joseph Pronechen is staff writer with the National Catholic Register since 2005 and before that a regular correspondent for the paper. His articles have appeared in a number of national publications including Columbiamagazine, Soul, Faith and Family, Catholic Digest, Catholic Exchange, and Marian Helper. His religion features have also appeared in Fairfield County Catholic and in major newspapers. He is the author of Fruits of Fatima — Century of Signs and Wonders. He holds a graduate degree and formerly taught English and courses in film study that he developed at a Catholic high school in Connecticut. Joseph and his wife Mary reside on the East Coast.Show Comments 14

Please remember the Forgotten Souls in Purgatory!