I am forever grateful to Pope Francis for all he has done for the Church and world during his pontificate, especially to lift up the poor, the marginalized, the immigrants and refugees.
I was one of over 1,000 priests from across the world that Pope Francis instituted and commissioned as Missionaries of Mercy on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016 during the Church’s Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.
“At this celebration,” he said, “the Missionaries of Mercy are present to receive the mandate to be signs and instruments of God’s forgiveness. Dear brothers, may you help to open the doors of hearts, to overcome shame, not to avoid the light. May your hands bless and lift up brothers and sisters with paternity; through you may the gaze and the hands of God rest on his children and heal them of their wounds!”
I recall Pope Francis saying, “I am a sinner.” The realization of the merciful love of the Father is captured in the motto on his coat of arms as a bishop and Pope.
His motto is taken from a homily by the venerable Bede on the Feast of St. Matthew, which reads: Vidit ergo Jesus publicanum, et quia miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait illi, ‘Sequere me’. (Jesus therefore sees the tax collector, and since he sees by having mercy and by choosing, he says to him, ‘Follow me’.)
This tribute to Divine Mercy has particular significance in the life and spirituality of the Pope. On the Feast of St. Matthew in 1953 a 17-year-old Jorge Bergoglio experienced in a very special way, the loving presence of God in his life.
Following confession, he felt his heart touched and he sensed the descent of the mercy of God, who with a gaze of tender love called him to religious life, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
In memory of this event, he chose for his episcopal motto the words of St. Bede, miserando atque eligendo, and later maintained this motto for his papal coat of arms.
In his landmark 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), Pope Francis wrote: “Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy … Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love.”
Through this special ministry of the Missionaries of Mercy, he called the Church to do the same as he described our God who shows His closeness, mercy, and tenderness.
Over these past nine years the Missionaries of Mercy met with the Pope three times in Rome during our international meetings of ongoing formation. We were encouraged to have national gatherings in our countries of origin as well.
Since 2019 I have worked with a committee of Missionaries of Mercy from all over the United States as we gather to focus on our continued formation, shared prayer, a service component, and fraternity. Together we explore how to live the mandate and legacy of mercy according to the heart of Pope Francis.
Here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (see the Missionaries of Mercy page on ArchPhila.org) I am one of 10 priests that have this special mandate and ministry from the Holy See.
We are mandated by the Holy Father to hear confessions freely in every diocese throughout the world and are authorized to lift certain reserved sins that normally require the permission of the Apostolic See.
Missionaries of Mercy have a three-fold mission:
- to preach about the Lord’s merciful love;
- to make that mercy as available as possible to as many as possible through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation;
- and to become more and more an icon of the Father’s merciful love and the Church’s maternal and compassionate solicitude.
As the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis, we give thanks to God for all that he has done to help the Church to grow closer to Christ. The Holy Father would want us to move forward, to keep going and doing the work of our merciful God.
We Missionaries of Mercy, in honor of Pope Francis, reaffirm and pledge to be living signs and agents of the Father’s welcome to all those in search of his forgiveness; heralds of the joy of forgiveness and inspiring preachers of mercy; and welcoming, loving, and compassionate confessors, especially attentive to the difficult situations of each person.
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Msgr. George A. Majoros is pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Clifton Heights and St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Drexel Hill, and is a Missionary of Mercy priest.
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