By Jude Atupulazi
The Governorship Candidate of Young Progressives Party YPP, Sir Paul Chukwuma, has bid farewell to the Supreme Catholic Pontiff, His Holiness, Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday at the of 88, describing him as a saint.
In a press release he signed, Chukwuma, a former seminarian, said, ‘With deep humility, and total resignation to the will of the Almighty God, I bid an eternal farewell to the Catholic Pontiff, our Pope, Pope Francis. The Church once again loses a Father strong in faith.
‘7:35am, 21st of April, 2025, will always remain a day to remember with joy and sorrow in the annals of the Church history. With sorrow because the chapters of a history of outstanding humanity are closing, with joy because an indelible footprint has been made in the life of the Church. Your 12 years (2013-2025) as the Pope and the Bishop of Rome will never be forgotten. A fresh and new generation has germinated within the Church.
‘You were the first Jesuit to become the Pope. Your years as the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits (1973-1979), Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires (1992-1997), Archbishop of Buenos Aires (1998-2013), and the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires (2011-2013), were beacons of fruitful evangelization in Argentina and later all over Southern America.
‘You were a bridge that joined people all over the world. Your penchant for mercy and protection of our environment has sustained the world. You reconciled leaders and were an example to your priests all over the world. You blessed the world on the Easter day in your “Urbi et Orbis”, while you quietly joined the saints on the early hours of Monday morning. You are a saint!
‘I and my family, together with all my associates, join the Catholic Church all over the world to mourn your exit. We would have loved you lived more, but God’s will remain paramount.
‘We however believe in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. We hope to meet again on the last day where alleluia will continue to be on our lips forever and ever, Amen!! As we pray for your happy repose, we continue to pray also for a successful consistory cum conclave which will herald the emergence of your successor,’ Chukwuma said in the release.
