Leo XIV: Faith assures us that ‘our bond with the faithful departed has not been broken’

Continuing a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in the late 1970s, Pope Leo XIV visited a cemetery outside the Vatican on Nov. 2 — the day the Catholic Church commemorates All Souls’ Day — to celebrate Mass and pray for those who have died.

“We have gathered to celebrate the Eucharist in this place of prayer and remembrance, of affection and hope. We offer it in suffrage for the faithful departed, particularly for those who rest here and for those whom each of us carries in our hearts,” the pontiff said during Mass celebrated on the central avenue of Rome’s Verano Cemetery.

The altar from which he presided over the celebration was flanked by a row of tombs. Located in the Tiburtino neighborhood, the cemetery, built in the 19th century during the Napoleonic era, is Italy’s second-largest civil cemetery and the largest in Rome.

The grounds, which include an area designated for non-Catholics, suffered severe damage during the Allied bombing of Rome in 1943 and were rebuilt in 1949.

Upon his arrival, Leo XIV placed a bouquet of white and yellow roses on the marble headstone of a randomly chosen grave belonging to an Italian family and bearing the name Antonia Coccia…