04/21/2025
April 21, 2025 | Easter Monday
A Statement on the Death of His Holiness Pope Francis
By Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling
My heart is heavy as I join the chorus of mourners around the world in lamenting the passing of His Holiness, Pope Francis, a shepherd whose life was a testament to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and whose ministry pierced the veil of indifference to reach the suffering, the forgotten, and the forsaken. Pope Francis departed this life on Easter Monday, a day that echoes with the promise of resurrection, even as it holds our sorrow.
That Pope Francis would take his rest on Easter Monday is no coincidence. It is in itself a homily. For just as the women at the tomb were the first to witness that life had triumphed over death, so too do we now witness the legacy of a man who spent his life bearing witness to the Risen Christ. He did this not through pomp or pretense, but through presence with the poor, advocacy for the marginalized, and unwavering compassion for the least of these.
In a world increasingly given to division, exclusion, and the idolatry of power, Pope Francis dared to remind us of the radical love of God. He championed the poor, not as objects of pity, but as bearers of dignity. He called us, both clergy and laity alike, back to the margins of our culture, where Christ himself walked, touched, healed, and restored. He modeled what it means to be a servant leader, declining grandiosity and instead embracing humility as his garment and mercy as his mission.
Pope Francis’ papacy embodied the prophetic tradition, always speaking hard truths in the face of global injustice, advocating for creation care, immigrant rights, economic equity, and peace across religious and political boundaries. His faith was not merely ritual; rather, it was incarnational. His theology never privileged the powerful. Instead he embraced the l***r, the widow, the refugee, the prisoner, and the child.
As a bishop of The United Methodist Church, I give thanks to God for the life of Pope Francis and his courageous witness, one that challenged the Church Universal to return to its roots, to trade its comfort for conviction, its safety for service, and to kneel once more at the feet of the suffering.
I pray for the Roman Catholic Church in this season of mourning and transition. On this Easter Monday, we remember not only that death has come, but that death is never the final word. Pope Francis knew this. He preached this. He lived this. And now, he rests in the arms of the God he so faithfully served. May we keep his legacy of proximity and disciplined joy alive – this Easter season and always.
Amen.
