Emotions spill as faithful flock to mass in memory of late Pope
KUWAIT : Seats may have been filled and crowds may have been forced to stand the hour long mass at the Holy Family Cathedral, but none of these mattered as they collectively clasped hands in prayer in tearful tribute to their beloved 'father' Pope John Paul II at a mass held in his memory, Wednesday. Approximately an hour-and-a-half before the start of the service, crowds were seen impetuously swarming through the gates of the church pulling out all stops to get seats within the cathedral's main halls before doors closed at 6 pm forcing masses to catch a hand me down scene of the service through an erected screen on the church's grounds.
"We are here to praise God and bid eternal life to our beloved Pope," said Vatican Ambassador to Kuwait, Giuseppe de Andrea, leading the service. "A personality so rich with a voice that spoke for human rights and peace and against the conception of abortion and the death penalty... the only voice that spoke for peace and justice," de Andrea said of the pontiff whom he added was a poet, a philosopher and a lover of nature. "Above all he was a believer and his faith revolved around Jesus Christ (PBUH) in whom he saw the final destiny of mankind."
In his message, he described the late Pope as a man of prayer who spent hours in the company of God and visited 126 countries with crowds of up to hundreds of thousands gathering to catch a glimpse and hear the voice of a man they so admired. "He was a man of peace and his death has not only brought sorrow to the Christians but to all the religions of the entire world giving a welcome message to every culture," he said thanking, on behalf of the apostolic vicar of Kuwait Bishop Francis Micallef, His Highness the Amir of Kuwait who delivered his condolences and members of diplomatic corps for attending the ceremony in dedication of the Pope.
In conclusion to his address, the ambassador spoke of fulfilling the Pope's dreams of building bridges across the globe. "His dream was to build bridges across the globe and unite opposite sides and replace the walls that divide them. When I was received by the Pope on Oct 13 last year and spoke of my plans in the Arabian peninsula, he laid his hand on my shoulder and said, 'continue... keep on going'." With this de Andrea ended his sermon to an emotional audience. "He was a holy father... a dear father loved by all. Now that he has returned to God, we hope he will be a blessing to all. We hope the good work he began may continue," said Fr Francis Fernandes of the Pope.
(Picture courtesy: Arab Times)
Fr Tom Runnupuram spoke of the world's love and respect of the Pope because of his principles of peace, love and brotherhood of mankind. "Everybody irrespective of religion thinks very highly of this great man who loved humanity and stood for great values. He was a great defender of human rights, took sides with the poor and traveled across the globe to preach the good news of love and brotherhood. He loved peace and respected every culture and kissed the ground of the land he visited. He led the Catholic Church according to the gospel taught values of Jesus Christ (PBUH) and asked for forgiveness on any errors caused by the Catholic Church."
A distressed Larin Fernandes who stood amongst the crowd with her two children regarded his death as a great loss to mankind and expressed contentment at Kuwait's stand in supporting the grieving. "We are happy to see front pages of every newspaper paying tribute to this man of peace. Being an Islamic country, we are proud to witness such a beautiful mass with people so kind to our religion. I am very proud of Kuwait for giving us the opportunity to express our grief and sorrow for a man whose death is a great loss to mankind," she said. A mournful Gelly Prado who attended the service with her husband said that the Pope touched their hearts and strengthened family values and faith. "He was a living saint," she said. "We love him very dearly and miss him terribly. I cannot express what I feel... we have lost a dear father. He was such a humble person that words cannot describe him," said a tearful Peter D'cruz who sat flaccidly on a bench outside the church.
Polish Monica Dean said that being from the native country of the Pope, she misses the man in whom she found a spiritual leader. "We miss him... I cry for him. He was such a religious man and I find in him a true spiritual leader. I wish the next elected Pope will be the same as he was." "As the bishop said, he was a devoted person who believed in prayer and worked mainly for the cause of the poor," said Lijia. "I didn't expect the Pope to die... at least not so soon," said Stella from Nigeria. "The Pope was a holy person and the father of our religion," said 6-year-old Quinnie Braganza. Among some of the attendees were the Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait, the Polish Ambassador and the Indian Ambassador.
- By Melanie Britto - Arab Times Staff
A distressed Larin Fernandes who stood amongst the crowd with her two children regarded his death as a great loss to mankind and expressed contentment at Kuwait's stand in supporting the grieving. "We are happy to see front pages of every newspaper paying tribute to this man of peace. Being an Islamic country, we are proud to witness such a beautiful mass with people so kind to our religion. I am very proud of Kuwait for giving us the opportunity to express our grief and sorrow for a man whose death is a great loss to mankind," she said. A mournful Gelly Prado who attended the service with her husband said that the Pope touched their hearts and strengthened family values and faith. "He was a living saint," she said. "We love him very dearly and miss him terribly. I cannot express what I feel... we have lost a dear father. He was such a humble person that words cannot describe him," said a tearful Peter D'cruz who sat flaccidly on a bench outside the church.
Polish Monica Dean said that being from the native country of the Pope, she misses the man in whom she found a spiritual leader. "We miss him... I cry for him. He was such a religious man and I find in him a true spiritual leader. I wish the next elected Pope will be the same as he was." "As the bishop said, he was a devoted person who believed in prayer and worked mainly for the cause of the poor," said Lijia. "I didn't expect the Pope to die... at least not so soon," said Stella from Nigeria. "The Pope was a holy person and the father of our religion," said 6-year-old Quinnie Braganza. Among some of the attendees were the Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait, the Polish Ambassador and the Indian Ambassador.
- By Melanie Britto - Arab Times Staff
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MEMORIAL MASS AT THE HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL The Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait deeply mourns the passing away of our beloved Holy Father Pope John Paul II. A Memorial Mass will be held on Wednesday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m. at the Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City. http://www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/ |
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