In a telegram Pope Francis sends his condolences on the death of Cardinal Majella Agnelo on 26 August in Brazil, recalling his service to the Church, “always guided by apostolic zeal”.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis expressed his profound sorrow after receiving news of the death of Brazilian Cardinal Gerardo Majella Agnelo, who died on 26 August, at the age of 89, in Londrina, the State of Parana in Brazil. The words came in a telegram addressed to Cardinal Sergio Da Rocha, Metropolitan Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahia, in which the Pope expressed his condolences, assuring his prayers to the Lord “for the eternal repose of the venerable prelate.”
Gratitude for his service
“My prayers,” Pope Francis writes, “are also of gratitude to God for the long years of his service dedicated to Holy Mother Church, always guided by apostolic zeal in the various missions entrusted to him as Bishop of Toledo, Archbishop of Londrina, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and finally, Archbishop Primate of Brazil and president of the Episcopal Conference.”
Apostolic blessing
Pope Francis then offered Archbishop Da Rocha “and all those who join in prayer for the eternal rest” of the deceased cardinal, his apostolic blessing as “a pledge of consolation and hope in eternal life.”
