Dear people of Achonry, as news breaks of the death of Pope Francis, I commend him to your prayers that God who called him to be Servant of the Servants of God, may welcome him home, now that his mission has been completed.

Pope Francis carried out his ministry as Pope with courage and humility. People will be write volumes about his papacy in the future. For now, perhaps it is enough to say that his pastoral energy was entirely focussed on forming the Church to be the community of believers that Jesus intended and calling each of us to become a “missionary disciple”. He was always ready to teach what the Church believes, but he called on Catholics to think it through rather than just accepting or rejecting it at face value. His sense of humour was very evident to those who met him.

One of my abiding own memories of him was when I was with the other Irish Bishops at a meeting with him during our Ad Limina visit. After an hour of listening and responding to us, he got up and walked towards the other end of the room, coming back with a bottle of water and a glass, saying quietly under his breath, “the poor translator has no water”.

May he rest in peace.
Bishop Kevin

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Contact

Fr Paul Kivlehan
The Presbytery
Ballaghaderreen
Co Roscommon
Tel. 094 9860011