DUMAGUETE CITY – Bishop Julito Cortes of the Diocese of Dumaguete on Monday called on the Catholic faithful to pray for Pope Francis, who passed away due to a lingering illness at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta in the morning (local time).

BISHOP Julito Cortes (right) with Pope Francis. (FB)

Cortes, who read his message during a Holy Mass on Easter Monday at his residence as tribute to the late Holy Father, said “that as the successor of Peter and Shepherd of the Universal Church, Pope Francis was a tireless witness to the Gospel – calling us to mercy, compassion, and synodality.”

“He led us with humility, courage, and a deep love for the poor, for creation and the People of God,” he added.

Cortes vowed that the late Pontiff’s “vision of a synodal Church” will continue in the life of the Diocese and in the hearts of its people.

He also noted a recent significant event that he described as a blessing to the diocese.

“We, in the diocese, will remember the generosity of the Holy Father in appointing our own bishop-elect, Glenn Corsiga, as the Bishop of Ipil,” he said, referring to the last appointee by Pope Francis from the Philippines.

Meanwhile, for liturgical correctness, the name of the late Pope Francis shall no longer be mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer of all Masses.

Cortes invited the parishes, religious communities, and the lay faithful in the diocese to pray for the eternal repose of the soul of the 88-year-old Argentinian pope.

“Let us commend Pope Francis to the tender mercy of the Good Shepherd he faithfully served,” Cortes added. (PNA)