Catholic bishops from across India gathered on Tuesday to offer a solemn Requiem Mass for Pope Francis, honoring the late pontiff’s legacy and spiritual leadership in a liturgy marked by deep communion and prayer.
The Mass was celebrated during the Executive Committee meeting of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore.
The gathering brought together 24 bishops, chairmen of 16 commissions, executive secretaries, department directors, and coordinators of various national apostolate.
With CCBI President Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão in Rome ahead of the papal conclave, the liturgy was presided over by CCBI Vice President and Bangalore Archbishop Peter Machado.
In his homily, Archbishop Machado paid tribute to the late pope’s enduring legacy, describing him as “a shepherd who embraced humility, lifted the poor, and boldly proclaimed the Gospel in a fragmented world.”
He added, “He taught us what it means to be a Church that walks with the wounded, speaks to the margins, and breathes the radical love of Christ.” He emphasized that Pope Francis envisioned “a Church that is inclusive and no one is excluded.”
The Requiem Mass served as a spiritual moment of unity for the Church in India, as bishops joined Catholics around the world in mourning a pope widely seen as a transformative figure in the life of the Church.
