THE Catholic Church in Zimbabwe will hold masses in honour of Pope Francis, who died on Monday.
The first mass takes place tomorrow at 5:30pm with Apostolic Nuncio, the representative of the Pope in Zimbabwe, leading the prayers.
The masses will be concelebrated by a priest and the Archbishop of the Diocese, while similar masses will be replicated in the other seven dioceses across the country.
The world is mourning Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, aged 88, from a cerebral stroke and subsequent heart failure.
Cardinals are meeting to plan the pontiff's funeral, which will be held on Saturday this week.
Speaking to NewsDay yesterday, Father Travis Moyo expressed sadness over the loss but also hope, given the timing of the pope's passing on during the Easter season, which celebrates life and resurrection.
“We are saddened by the loss, but we are also hopeful because we are in the season of Easter,” Father Moyo said. “That day is not just without the resurrection. During this season, we are celebrating life and him dying around this season speaks to the reality of death and the resurrection.”
Father Moyo described the late Pope as a “faithful shepherd” who guided many for over 12 years, praying that he has been received into God's kingdom, where there is no pain or sorrow.
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Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sent a message of condolence to the Vatican.
In a message to the acting head of the Vatican, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Mnangagwa said the world reflected, with reverence, on the life and legacy of a devoted servant of the Apostolic See, “who dedicated himself to the service of God and humanity at large”.
“His voice, that resonated within and beyond the hallowed walls of the Vatican, shall forever remain an embodiment of his spirit of grace, moral leadership and theological insight, that uplifted the spiritual consciousness of our time.
“As we join you in this time of mourning, we pray that the Almighty God grants eternal rest to his soul and give the entire Catholic family strength and comfort to overcome this loss,” Mnangagwa said.
According to reports, the pope will join a handful of his predecessors when he is laid to rest outside the Vatican.
Francis chose the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), which was one of his favourite places to pray.
Most popes are buried in Vatican grounds — the last not to be was Leo XIII in 1903.
St Mary Major is located about 4km from the Vatican.
It was precious to Francis because of his devotion to Mary, Mother of God, and he prayed there before setting off on and returning from each overseas trip.
“I've always had a great devotion to St Mary Major, even before I became pope,” he said in his 2024 book El Sucesor (The Successor).
It is said that the church's ceiling was made from a batch of gold brought back by explorer Christopher Columbus.
Francis returned there during his papacy, praying for an end to the COVID pandemic in a locked-down Rome in 2020.
In the left nave of the basilica stands a venerated Byzantine icon of Mary, in the Pauline chapel, where a vase of golden roses, donated by the pope in 2023, sits among candlesticks under the icon.
The basilica was founded in 432, a year after the Council of Ephesus declared Mary to be the Mother of God.
It is the only basilica in Rome that still has a primitive early Christian structure, although there are many later additions.
A legend depicted on a 13th-century mosaic in the basilica tells of miraculous summer snowfall on the future site of the church.
Romans gather every August 5 to celebrate the miracle of La Madonna Della Neve or Madonna of the Snows.
