Pope prays for the dead

The Pope on Wednesday will go to the Vatican Grottoes beneath St. Peter’s Basilica to pray for the repose of the souls of the Popes who have gone before him. Tomorrow he will offer the Mass for those Cardinals who have died within the past year.

Father Moses Hamungole spoke to us about the significance of the Pope’s prayers. “It is a practice that has been done for many years. Of course, as we know, the Cardinals are his closest collaborators, and it is a normal thing that one would want to spend time to remember people who have worked closely with you, or people in the past who have made a big contribution to the growth of the Church.”

“There’s a belief that some people do not go immediately into the presence of God. They need our prayer and that’s how the whole tradition comes in the whole theology of praying for the dead comes in,” he said. “We need to accompany them with our prayers.”

Listen to the complete interview of Father Moses Hamungole with Christopher Wells: