On Wednesday evening 23rd April 2025 a Special Requiem Mass was celebrated in St John’s Cathedral for the repose of the soul of His Holiness Pope Francis.

The principal celebrant was Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

Bishop Leahy in his homily said “Pope Francis has returned to the Lord he served so faithfully. He leaves behind a Church that he helped reform to be more open, more merciful, and more faithful to Jesus Christ. In his life and leadership, he called us to hope, to humility, and to holiness. He underlined the importance of recognising that we journey together as Christians not as scattered individuals. It is together that we best work out what God wants of us at this time. May he rest in the peace of the God he loved and served with all his heart.”

In attendance were members of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of The Holy See with a mission to support The Church and Christian communities in the Holy Land, especially those within the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.