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Vatican City, Oct 22, 2018 / 08:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- John Paul II spent much of his papacy speaking to youth. Now some of those youth are bishops.

On the feast of Saint John Paul II, one synod bishop reflected on how the Polish pope inspired generations of young people, including himself, to pursue holiness.

“Catholic youth want to implement ‘the civilization of love’ that was promised by John Paul II,” French Archbishop David Macaire said at a Vatican press conference Oct. 22.

The archbishop of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France in Martinique is in Rome for the 2018 Synod of Bishops convened Oct. 3-28 to discuss young people, the faith, and vocational discernment.

“I attended my first World Youth Day when I was 19 years old in Santiago de Compostela,” Macaire said in French.

The 1989 World Youth Day in Spain was the fourth global meeting for young people established by the John Paul II, who went on to celebrate a total of 19 World Youth Days in his pontificate with millions of young people from all over the world.

“John Paul II guided me through my youth,” Archbishop Macaire said.

Synod fathers should convey the Gospel, he continued, because “young people will receive this legacy.”

Earlier in the day, Pope Francis prayed at the tomb of Saint John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica. In April 2014, Pope Francis canonized John Paul II along with Pope John XXIII.

The Synod of Bishops did not meet Monday, while committees complete writing the draft of the final document and the synod letter to young people.

The draft document of the post-synod apostolic exhortation will be presented Oct. 23 and synod fathers will be able to propose their changes individually or as groups, Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, announced.

It is up to Pope Francis to decide when the document will be made available to the public, Ruffini added.

As the synod nears its close, Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut said Monday that bishops and other diocesan leaders need to bring “synodality” to the local level.

“The document that we will receive tomorrow … is an attempt to speak to a global community,” Caggiano said.

“Let’s be realistic, young people in Bridgeport have a very different experience from young people in Nairobi or young people in Caracas,” he continued.

One unique experience was shared by a young girl from Guinea, Henriette Camara, who told the synod her story of growing up in a Muslim family. Camara converted to Catholicism, despite parental disapproval, through the witness and community that she encountered in a Catholic scouting group.

“The pursuit of holiness is recognizing the will of God and choosing to do it,” said Bishop Caggiano. “This entire synod has been an ecclesial exercise to unlock that pursuit of holiness.”

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Cardinal George Pell’s coffin in front of some of the cardinals who concelebrated his funeral Mass on Jan. 14, 2023 / Alan Koppschall/CNA

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2023 / 07:50 am (CNA).

Catholics traveled from near and far to attend the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.

The Australian cardinal died in Rome Jan. 10 from a cardiac arrest following a hip surgery. He was 81.

His Jan. 14 funeral, held at the Altar of the Chair, was filled to capacity, with extra chairs added at the last minute to accommodate people standing as far back as the Vatican basilica’s main altar.

“A man of God and a man of the Church, he was characterized by a deep faith and great steadfastness of doctrine, which he always defended without hesitation and with courage, concerned only with being faithful to Christ,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said about Pell in his homily for the funeral.

“As he noted many times, the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family grieved him,” Re said. “To God, who is good and rich in mercy, we entrust this brother of ours, praying that God will welcome him into the peace and intimacy of his love.”

Pell’s brother, David Pell, and cousin Chris Meney, together with other family members, priests, and religious, traveled from Australia to be at the funeral.

Michael Casey, Pell’s former secretary who now works at the Australian Catholic University, was also in attendance.

From Rome, Holy See diplomats, students, and priests, also came to pray for Pell’s repose. Seminarians of the Pontifical North American College attended the funeral Mass immediately following their audience with Pope Francis the same morning.

American author George Weigel, a longtime friend of Cardinal Pell, traveled from the United States for the funeral.

The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the deacon of the College of Cardinals, and concelebrated by cardinals and bishops.

Pell’s private secretary during his years in Rome, Father Joseph Hamilton, and archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, also concelebrated.

Pope Francis arrived at the end of the Mass to perform the rite of final commendation and farewell, as is his custom for the funeral of a cardinal.

“May God unite his soul with those of all the saints and faithful departed,” the pope prayed. “May he be given a merciful judgement so that, redeemed from death, freed from punishment, reconciled to the Father, carried in the arms of the Good Shepherd, he may deserve to enter fully into everlasting happiness in the company of the eternal King together with all the saints.”

Francis sprinkled holy water. A priest incensed the coffin as the choir and congregation sang the Marian antiphon Sub Tuum Praesidium.

Applause broke out as Pell’s coffin was carried from St. Peter’s Basilica.

The cardinal will be buried in his former cathedral, St. Mary’s, in Sydney, Australia.

The day before his funeral, a visitation was held for Pell in the Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini inside the Vatican.

The Gospel for Cardinal Pell’s funeral Mass was from Luke 12, about the vigilant and faithful servants: “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival,” Luke 12:37 says.

The Responsorial Psalm was from Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

In his homily, Re remarked on Pell’s unexpected death, and on his recent attendance at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

“Despite his 81 years, he seemed to be in good health,” he said. “Hospitalized for hip surgery, heart complications ensued, causing his death.”

“Enlightened and comforted by faith in the risen Christ, we are gathered around this altar and the body of Cardinal Pell to entrust his soul to God, that he may be received into the immensity of his love in life without end.”

Re described Pell as a “strong-willed and decisive protagonist, characterized by the temper of a strong character, which at times could appear harsh.”

The cardinal’s premature death, Re said, has left us dismayed, but “there is only room in our hearts for hope.”

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Vatican City, Jul 27, 2019 / 09:04 am (CNA).- Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, who served as Archbishop of Havana for more than 34 years, died Friday at the age of 82 after a months-long battle with cancer.

The Cuban cardinal oversaw the papal v… […]