Hundreds of New Yorkers joined United Nations ambassadors and consular officials to remember Pope Francis at a memorial Mass celebrated only hours after the late Pope’s funeral had taken place in Rome, on Saturday, April 26.

Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, who serves as the permanent representative of the Holy See to the United Nations, was the principal celebrant.

Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, welcomed Archbishop Caccia and the many guests who had come to participate. He pointed out that present for the memorial Mass were the chair where Pope Francis sat while celebrating Mass at Madison Square Garden, his zucchetto, or clerical skullcap, and the chalice from that historic Mass.

Archbishop Caccia served Pope Francis first as the apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, a position to which he was named in September 2017, and now as the Holy See’s permanent representative, a position he has held since January 2020.

Speaking for almost 20 minutes, Archbishop Caccia eulogized Pope Francis. “We feel consolation from the beautiful image we witnessed this morning: people from all corners of the world, all languages, all races, all religions together. Here too, on a smaller scale, we represent the entire world, especially with the United Nations present. We all feel that we have lost a father. We Catholics call him Holy Father, but not just for us Catholics or Christians – all humanity has lost a father, a person of trust, a person close to all of us.”

“Among the many definitions of Pope Francis, there is one I like very much. The popes have, after their name, ‘PP’ which means “Pope, Patriarch of Patriarchs.” But in the press, he was called ‘PP’ – the People’s Pope. Those who truly believe understand that there is just one commandment: Love God with all your heart, mind, and life, and love your neighbor as yourself. It’s a coin with two sides that cannot be split – you cannot pretend to serve God if you discard your neighbor. That was exactly his testimony: a true believer in God, a true servant of people. The best definition of the power of the pope is ‘Servus Servorum Dei’ – servant of the servants of God. This is my definition: a friend of God and therefore a friend of all humanity.”

“In everything we heard from him and saw in him, he was like a clear sky or pure water or someone with a clean heart – refreshing, giving hope. So, we want to say thank you, Holy Father Francis, from all of us, from the whole world,” Archbishop Caccia said.

“I want to conclude as they did in Rome: You always asked for prayers for yourself. Now it’s our turn to ask you to pray for us so that we can follow in your footsteps. May he rest in peace. Hallelujah,” he concluded.

In his final blessing at the end of Mass, Archbishop Caccia said, “Thank you to all the colleagues and friends and all those who are here in this beautiful church. Today, we feel more united, and we feel that we are a unique human family. Let us work together to make this world a better place for all.”