Pope Francis’ silent walk: A prayerful parable in action

By Archbishop Emeritus Alfred C. Hughes
Archdiocese of New Orleans

The gift of life for 88 years has meant living through a number of challenges: the great economic depression following the Wall Street financial collapse of 1929; the national war effort during World War II; the social turbulence of the ’60s; the church turbulence of the ’70s; the gradual erosion of faith in the following decades; the clergy sex scandal in the recent decades; the dramatic leakage in the church in the first decades of the 21st century; the pandemic of COVID-19!

Personally, I found the prayer service of Pope Francis on March 27, 2020, to be spiritually moving and motivating. He pointed the way to respond not only to the pandemic, but any crisis.

Our Holy Father limped into an empty St. Peter’s Square at nightfall, unprotected, while a drizzle dampened him and seemingly the whole world. He was alone, a forlorn figure, seemingly representing a pandemic-afflicted and fallen mankind, walking resolutely to hear the Word of God rather than hide from God’s voice as our original ancestors did in the Garden of Eden.

Pope Francis listened to the public proclamation of the Gospel passage (Mk 4: 35-41), recounting the virulent storm on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples cried out in terror to Jesus, asleep and seemingly uncaring in the stern of the boat. The Lord responded, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

The homily of Pope Francis was like a spoken meditation. He let those words of Jesus reverberate throughout St. Peter’s Square to the world. He then sat, absorbing those words himself in prayerful receptivity.

After moments of quiet, Pope Francis moved to the image of Mary, Salus Populi Romani (Protectress of the Roman People), as if to ask her for the grace to respond to the Word of God as she did.

After prayerful silence, he moved (at Mary’s bidding?) to the crucifix from the Church of San Marcello (venerated in the past during previous plagues). He seemed to ponder the mystery of the Lord’s agonizing death and kissed the blood-stained feet of the crucified Lord. Finally, he moved to the temporary altar at the door of St. Peter’s Basilica, where the monstrance housed the sacramental presence of the Risen Lord. He prayed again in silence. Then he wrapped his arms around the monstrance and raised the sacramental Risen Lord in blessing to the whole world.

That prayer service spoke to me even more in symbol than in word of the need for us all to be unafraid of suffering in life.

We need to hear the penetrating Word of the Master: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”; invoke the intercession of Mary; appreciate more deeply the Paschal Mystery; embrace the living sacramental presence of the Risen Lord.

Did not this prayer service point the way for us priests to respond in any time of crisis? Is it not our blessed ministry to help others to God and salvation by relating the struggles of this life to the Paschal Mystery? What an awesome gift!

Archbishop Emeritus Alfred C. Hughes served as the 13th archbishop of New Orleans.