From Tuesday April 22, the day after Pope Francis’s death, through Friday April 25, the day before the pontiff’s Funeral Mass, the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington announced that it would open its doors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for people to show their respect to the pope by signing a Book of Condolences.
A staff member said that in the first two days, hundreds of people had come to sign the Book of Condolences at the nunciature, which is known popularly as the Vatican embassy to the United States. Those paying their respects included public officials, diplomatic personnel, members of the Catholic community, and the general public.
After signing the book on April 24, Congressman French Hill (R-Arkansas), said, “What a marvelous last Easter for the Holy Father.” He noted how the pope, despite his illness and recent hospitalization, offered a final blessing to the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and to the world on Easter. The pontiff died early the next morning.
“From his time as an ordinary priest, he’s been one with the people,” the congressman said.
Rep. Hill – who is Catholic and is a ninth generation Arkansan, representing that state’s second congressional district since 2015 – also praised Pope Francis’s efforts at interfaith dialogue, noting how the Holy Father signed a document on Human Fraternity in 2019 with Ahmed Al-Tayeb, a Sunni Muslim religious leader who is the grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar, the chief center of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world. The congressman called that document “a superb testament that we’re all children of God.”
Also signing a Book of Condolences for Pope Francis that day was Pablo Zambrano, the new ambassador of Ecuador to the United States. He had just arrived in Washington on Monday April 21, the day that Pope Francis died in Rome at the age of 88.
Zambrano said he especially admired Pope Francis’s humanity and his message of fraternity, encouraging people “to be better humans with our brothers and sisters.”
The Ecuadorian ambassador said it “was glorious when he (Pope Francis) was elected pope” in 2013, becoming the first pontiff from Latin America. He got to meet the pontiff when he visited Ecuador in 2015.
As a priest and as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the future Pope Francis was known for serving the poor there. “His ministry had a deep example of humanity and empathy,” Zambrano said. He also remembered how the future pope rode on the Metro train in Argentina and did everyday things like buying a newspaper and getting breakfast croissants. “He was so humble,” he said, noting the humility that marked Pope Francis’s priesthood and papacy.
After signing the Book of Condolences at the Apostolic Nunciature on April 24, Geraldine Byrne Nason, the ambassador of Ireland to the United States, praised Pope Francis for his “extraordinary vision and compassion in a world where empathy and solidarity are such important values. He lived those and guided us with his vision and message.”
Also interviewed that morning after signing the Book of Condolences for Pope Francis was Steven Howard, a Catholic from the Washington area who said he admired the late pontiff’s humility and “his very global outlook on the Church, appointing so many cardinals outside Europe, and his very radical love for the poor.”
That quality of Pope Francis was also emphasized by Jovita Neliupsiene of Lithuania, who also signed the Book of Condolences. “I think the most important thing is his compassion for the less privileged,” she said.
Neliupsiene, who serves as an ambassador with the delegation of the European Union to the United States, said she was especially moved by how the pope in past years had washed the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday. By doing that, Pope Francis showed that “the people who make a mistake can be treated with dignity, and they still matter,” she said.
Carrying his bicycle helmet, Washington-area resident Matthew Audi prepared to set out after signing the Book of Condolences at the Apostolic Nunciature. Audi, who noted that he was baptized Lutheran and has many Greek Catholic family members, said, “Everyone in my family admires Pope Francis, particularly what he’s done for the marginalized and the poor. He represents the best of what Jesus teaches us to do.”
The opportunity for people to visit the Apostolic Nunciature and sign the Book of Condolences for Pope Francis concludes on Friday April 25, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The nunciature is located at 3339 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., in Washington, D.C. Messages of condolence may also be sent by email to: condolences@nuntiususa.org or by regular post.
