The Pope Video: For those who have lost a child 

In The Pope Video for November 2024, produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope Francis asks that we pray for those who have lost a child.

Pope Francis notes “What can we say to parents who have lost a child? How can we console them? There are no words. You see, when one spouse loses the other, they are a widower or a widow. A child who loses a parent is an orphan. There’s a word for that. But when a parent loses a child, there’s no word. The pain is so great, that there’s no word.”

The Pope highlights that “The pain caused by this loss is especially intense. Words of encouragement are at times banal or sentimental, they’re not helpful. Spoken with the best intention, of course, they can end up aggravating the wound.”

To offer comfort to parents who have lost a child, Pope Francis says “We need to listen to them, to be close to them with love, to care responsibly for the pain they feel, imitating how Jesus Christ consoled those who were afflicted. And those parents who are sustained by their faith can certainly find comfort in other families who, by suffering such a terrible tragedy as this, have been reborn in hope. Let us pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community, and may receive peace of heart from the Spirit of Consolation”

Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J., acting International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, says “The pain of losing a child is immense. We know that God never ceases to console and be near to those who suffer. We must be careful and find the right language that allows us to be near those who are suffering without trying to deny their pain, knowing that what moves and inspires us is always the Holy Spirit.” Father Fones invites us to join in prayer with the Pope so that the Holy Spirit might bring peace and consolation to those wounded by this tragedy.