At Jubilee of Teenagers, grief is mingled with joyful hope for church's future

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For thousands of young teens who traveled to Rome for the Jubilee of Teenagers, the announcement of Pope Francis' death came as a shock.

For many, the joy of commemorating the Jubilee Year dedicated to hope was suddenly mingled with grief at the loss of the pontiff, who passed away April 21, and uncertainty about how it would affect their pilgrimage to Rome.

"We have been preparing for the Jubilee since January," 22-year-old Vincenzo Pirico, who was accompanying a group of teens from the central Italian city of Pisa, told Catholic News Service April 27. "When we received the announcement of the Holy Father's death, the spirit with which we participated (these days) truly changed."

Gustavo Molina, a young man from Quito, Ecuador, said the news of the pope's passing felt "like a cold shower."

However, for him and the group of teens he accompanied, grief over the pope's passing turned to gratefulness for the opportunity to be in Rome to pay their respects and say goodbye to the first Latin American pope.

"We were lucky to be here," Molina told CNS. "Everyone was still active, laughing, trying to stay as united as possible in this moment of mourning for the pope."

"The important thing is that we are all together to give one last honor to our dear pope because he was very much loved, especially in the Hispanic community."

Not long after the pope's death was announced, the Vatican said the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Teenagers would not include the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to become a saint, but it would be a memorial Mass instead.

Pope Francis had approved the decree for the canonization of Blessed Acutis May 23, 2024, and announced the date for his canonization at the end of November.

The late pontiff's April 26 funeral marked the beginning of the "novendiali," a nine-day period of mourning in which memorial Masses are celebrated each day at St. Peter's Basilica.

Nevertheless, despite that period of mourning, tens of thousands filled the main road -- Via della Conciliazione -- that led to a jam-packed St. Peter's Square. Many waving flags, singing and applauding.

According to the Vatican press office, an estimated 200,000 people were present for the memorial Mass.

"I'm sure Pope Francis is looking down on this day, and his heart is filled with joy because he calls us to a Jubilee of hope. And this certainly is a Jubilee of hope, isn't it?" Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia told CNS.

Like many who had come to Rome, Archbishop Nelson had come for Blessed Acutis' canonization. But for him, the change to a memorial Mass for Pope Francis was a fitting tribute to a pope who loved, and was loved by, young people.

"Pope Francis said that these young people are not the hope of the future; he actually said they are the now of God. And they're certainly giving witness to that here today," the archbishop said. "It's a great blessing."

When asked about his thoughts on the church's future in the coming days before the conclave, Archbishop Nelson told CNS that it was an "exciting time for the church" and is confident that, like Pope Francis, the next pontiff will be exactly what the world needs.

"I was asked not too long ago, 'Are you worried about who the next pope is going to be?' And I said, 'No, absolutely not,'" the archbishop said. "The Spirit of God has always given us the pope that we needed at the time we needed. We needed our pope. And so I know the Spirit will guide that process and the church will receive him with great joy and great love, as we always do."

The pope's death not only came as a shock to those attending the April 27 Mass, but for pilgrims who had come to pass through the Holy Door during the Jubilee year.

Father Andrea Filippucci, a priest of the Diocese of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, led a group of nearly 100 pilgrims from across three of the islands to Rome to participate in the Jubilee.

Like so many around the world, Father Filippucci -- who hails from Rome -- told CNS in a telephone interview April 26 that he and his group were in disbelief after the pope's death was announced.

"We just saw the pope giving a blessing for the "Urbi et Orbi," he said, referring to the pope's Easter Sunday blessing "to the city and to the world."

"He looked tired, but I think nobody could have expected that he would have passed so quickly. So, obviously, the first reaction was a bit of shock. Is it fake news? How is it possible?"

"I will confess, with Pope Francis' death, it was a moment where I was kind of confused; in the sense that I wasn't expecting it. And it honestly felt a little bit too coincidental at first," said 19-year-old Fayshia Donelly, one of the U.S. Virgin Island pilgrims.

Another member of the group, Briah Ryan told CNS that despite the sadness of the pope's death, she was grateful for the chance to be "a part of this historic time" and that the pilgrimage has been a time to learn about the process of choosing a new pope which "is all very new to me."

"I find it to be an incredible experience and it's going to be something I'm going to remember the rest of my life," she said.

Father Filippucci told CNS the pilgrimage was a "time of prayer" for Pope Francis and "for the Holy Spirit to call the right man to lead the church during this time."

"Our pilgrimage was first based on hope, on passing through the Holy Doors, on getting an indulgence, and that was kind of the theme," the Italian priest said, adding that upon the pope's death, the theme switched to reflect on St. Peter and "the beautiful history God does" with him.

Peter was "not a superhero, but he's somebody who many times doubts and makes a mess, and yet God loves him. So, that's a great hope for us," Father Filippucci said.

"It gave us the opportunity to speak about St. Peter (not only) as the first bishop of the church, but also as an image for us Christians on this journey that God doesn't ask us to be perfect, but he asks us to lean on him and to trust in him," he said.