DES MOINES, Iowa — Bishop William Joensen of the Diocese of Des Moines has released a statement following the passing of Pope Francis at the age of 88 on Monday.

Bishop Joensen highlighted Pope Francis’ stance on environmental issues and his call for people to “be conscious of the human impact and responsibility to be good stewards of the global environment and to keep a compact with future generations in our care for the earth, our common home.”

He also recounted his personal encounters with Pope Francis and recalled the warm welcome bestowed on him by the pontiff.

You can view the entire statement below:

On Easter Sunday, we heard of the apostle Peter running to the tomb of Jesus only to find it empty. Today, the chair of Peter’s successor stands empty in the wake of the death of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

Our hearts are heavy but also grateful for the nearly twelve years of his ministry as the Roman pontiff—a bridge builder who as a son of South America and a member of the Company of Jesus reached out to many peoples both within and beyond the institutional Church.  He opened many hearts to the joy-filled and consoling message of the Gospel by his unflagging commitment to the poor, to those considered to be on the “peripheries” of various societies. 

He called us to be conscious of the human impact and responsibility to be good stewards of the global environment and to keep a compact with future generations in our care for the earth, our common home.  In his prophetic and sometimes unsettling manner, he jostled us beyond complacency or inward-looking tendencies as a People of God, and called us to be on mission to foster unity and friendship among all human persons as brothers and sisters, so that ultimately we can joyfully abide in the communion of God’s love.

I was blessed to encounter Pope Francis first as a newly ordained bishop and on other subsequent occasions, especially in the company of other U.S. Midwestern bishops. I recall his warm welcome, his unpretentious and lively style of engagement where field questions and respond as a brother in Christ.  His regard for the Church in the United States was based in part on his experience at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, and his canonization of St. Junipero Serra, patron of the California missions.  He inaugurated the present Jubilee Year by encouraging us to accompany one another, including the migrant and outcast, as “Pilgrims of Hope.” 

And now he has gone before us, we pray, to the heavenly company of saints to which he pointed us by his preaching and example.  May God bestow upon him the same mercy for his personal sins and failings that he exemplified as disciple and shepherd.

The Church now begins the traditional nine days of mourning for our Holy Father.

In addition, I encourage the faithful to pray the following during this period.

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,

Look favorably on your servant Francis,

Whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd.

Grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides

So that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God forever and ever.

We lift up Holy Father Francis in our prayers at Holy Mass, and by invoking the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and health and intercessor for the Roman and all peoples, to whom he was particularly devoted.

+Eternal rest grant unto Pope Francis, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Bishop William M. Joensen, Diocese of Des Moines