Amid the flood of articles and comments that have accompanied these days, we simply want to express our thanks to Pope Francis for the human and spiritual heritage he leaves us:
1. For Divine Mercy. Thank you for tirelessly reminding us that “God never tires of forgiving” and for the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
2. For the joy of faith. Thank you for teaching us that faith in Jesus Christ allows us to live “on the wings of hope”: truly Spes non confundit.
3. For devotion to Mary. Thank you for the testimony of filial devotion to the Mother of God, the Most Holy Mary.
4. For disarming simplicity. Thank you for a sober lifestyle that has marked every gesture of his pontificate.
5. For prioritizing the least. Thank you for placing the poor, the homeless, refugees, migrants, and prisoners at the center.
6. For denouncing the “throwaway culture”. Thank you for condemning the exploitation and instrumentalization of people, unscrupulous profit, and rampant consumerism.
7. For the value of the family. Thank you for warning us that pets cannot replace children.
8. For attention to the elderly. Thank you for reminding us that fragile life is not to be discarded: the elderly are not to be euthanized for being useless or unproductive, but are witnesses of peace, love, and blessing.
9. For synodality. Thank you for showing that Christianity is not a “do-it-yourself” project, but communion with God and with brothers and sisters.
10. For ecumenical openness. Thank you for seeking unity among Christians with concrete and courageous gestures.
11. For the fight for peace. Thank you for raising your voice in a world torn apart by a “third world war in pieces.”
12. For the prophetic vision of the present time. Thank you for helping us understand that we are not simply living through an era of change, but the change of an era.
Thank you. May God reward all the good sown on earth.
