Remembering Pope Francis

The University of Scranton will ceremonially light its gateway façade and hold an upcoming memorial Mass to honor the late Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff.

"While our hearts are joined in mourning with the Church throughout the world, let us also look back with joy and thanksgiving for the life and legacy of Pope Francis and for the love that he so freely gave to all," said Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., president, in a message to the University community. "In the days to come, the Division of Mission and Ministry will have opportunities for prayer to commend his soul to our loving God, as well as examine his legacy from a reflective and intellectual standpoint."

Father Marina will preside over an on-campus memorial Mass for Pope Francis at 12:05 p.m. Friday, April 25. The Mass will be held at Madonna Della Strada Chapel, which will be draped in black bunting.

"Francis' leadership has been one of great consequence in the history of the Church," Father Marina said. "From his very first moments in the public eye 12 years ago, Francis has governed the Church with humility and care. On the Loggia overlooking Saint Peter's Square, he asked for the people gathered below and those watching around the world to pray for him. As a Catholic, Jesuit institution, we here at The University of Scranton have prayed for him every single day since then, both in the Eucharistic Prayer spoken at Mass, as well as in countless public and private prayers uttered in chapels, residence hall rooms, classrooms and outdoors."

Also on Friday, April 25, the Jesuit Center will sponsor a presentation by Daniel Cosacchi, Ph.D., vice president for mission and ministry, on papal succession. The talk will begin at 2 p.m. in the PNC Auditorium of the Loyola Science Center.

The Vatican News recently published a preface Pope Francis had written this year for Cardinal Angelo Scola's, Archbishop Emeritus of Milan, book, "Awaiting a New Beginning: Reflections on Old Age."

In his preface, Pope Francis reflected on life and death, saying that death is not the end of everything but instead the beginning of something else.

"And it is precisely for this reason that it is a 'new' beginning," he wrote, "because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity."

The University's Class of 2020 Gateway sign - a four-story landmark and one of the most visible points on campus, seen from blocks away on Linden Street - will display a white cross and gold background. White and gold, worn during Easter and Christmas by the Pope, symbolize the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the celebration of life.