Diocese of Lubbock to celebrate Memorial Mass for Pope Francis

LUBBOCK— Most Rev. Robert Coerver, Bishop of Lubbock, will celebrate a Memorial Mass for Pope Francis at Christ the King Cathedral in Lubbock on Saturday, April 26, at 2 p.m.

“I feel a personal closeness to this particular Bishop of Rome,” Bishop Coerver wrote, reflecting on the death of Pope Francis. “He is responsible — for some inexplicable reason— for appointing me the third Bishop of Lubbock in September 2016.”

All people of good will are welcome to join the bishop and Catholics from across the South Plains praying in thanksgiving for the life and ministry of Pope Francis.

“I believe Pope Francis will be remembered for his focus on mercy,” Bishop Coerver wrote, “calling us to be pilgrims of hope during this jubilee year, wishing that our faith in Jesus Christ and the life of the Church be marked by joy – the joy of the Gospel.”

“I believe Pope Francis will be remembered for his focus on mercy,” Bishop Coerver wrote, “calling us to be pilgrims of hope during this jubilee year, wishing that our faith in Jesus Christ and the life of the Church be marked by joy – the joy of the Gospel.”

In his reflection, Bishop Coerver wrote about the world’s introduction to the pope, the prominent issues of Pope Francis’s papacy, and meeting the pontiff.

“When Pope Francis was presented to the crowd gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, after his election on March 13, 2013, the world knew that change was at hand,” Bishop Coerver wrote. “A Jesuit from South America elected pope — that seemed unthinkable.”

Bishop Coerver reflected on watching the introduction on television. Then, he writes about meeting Pope Francis as a newly-appointed Bishop of Lubbock.

“I was blessed to meet him personally in September of 2017, when I was in Rome for the annual gathering of new bishops appointed in the past year,” Bishop Coerver wrote. “When I shook his hand on that occasion and mentioned being from Texas, he showed knowledge of tragic flooding, which had recently occurred in the Houston area a few weeks before.”

Bishop Coerver’s full reflection on the death of Pope Francis can be found on the Diocese of Lubbock website at https://catholiclubbock.org/PopeFrancisMemorial.html

Also available for download on the Diocese of Lubbock website are a digital memorial prayer card formatted for cellphones and a novena prayer for Pope Francis.