“I am sure that all these who have gone in goodwill, called by their homeland to defend it, are with the Lord. But do we, who are on the way, do we fight sufficiently so that there are no wars?” the pope asked.
“Why are the economies of countries fortified by the arms industry?”
There were just over 100 people present at the papal Mass in the military cemetery located some two miles north of the Vatican.
The pope recalled those who died on the shores of Normandy and at the Battle of Anzio near Rome in World War II, as well as at the Piave River in Italy in World War I.
“These people — good people — died in war, they died because they were called to defend their homeland, to defend values, to defend ideals and, many other times, to defend sad and lamentable political situations,” Pope Francis said.
“And they are the victims, the victims of war, which eats the children of the fatherland,” he said.
On All Souls’ Day and throughout the month of November, the Church makes a special effort to remember, honor, and pray for the dead.
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There are many different cultural traditions around the feast, but one of the most consistently honored is the practice of visiting cemeteries. This year, the Vatican is granting a plenary indulgence to Catholics who visit a cemetery to pray for the dead on any day in the month of November.
Last year, the pope visited the Teutonic Cemetery in Vatican City, and in 2019 he offered All Souls’ Day Mass in the Catacombs of Priscilla, one of the prominent catacombs of the early Church in Rome.
In 2018, Pope Francis offered Mass in a cemetery for deceased children and unborn babies called the “Garden of Angels,” located in the Laurentino Cemetery on the outskirts of Rome.
In his homily at the French military cemetery, the pope recalled a sign he had read at the gate of another cemetery that said: “You who pass, think of your steps, and of your steps think of the last step.”
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