Saint Luke Institute Joins the Church in Remembering the Life of Pope Francis

The Board of Directors and staff of Saint Luke Institute (SLI) join in prayers with the Catholic community and many others in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, who died Easter Monday, April 21, 2025. As we recall the mystery of the risen Christ, who like the seed, fell into the ground and died, but in so doing brought forth abundant fruit (John 12:24), we entrust Pope Francis in prayer to our loving and merciful God. We hold firm in the belief the beautiful seeds he planted throughout his life, in faithfulness to Christ, will continue to blossom into an abundant harvest for the good of our Church, our world, and for all of creation.

There are many significant and groundbreaking accomplishments to recall and celebrate over Pope Francis’ 12-year pontificate. We join with others in those remembrances.

In our own mission at SLI to care for the mental health and spiritual wellbeing of clergy, religious and those who serve the Church, we especially recall and celebrate his efforts as Pope to end the stigma that still endures in our society and our Church around mental illness and mental health care.

In a message to a gathering of mental health officers from Italy in the Vatican in 2021, and in the aftermath of the acute period of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pope said, “It is … of the utmost importance to become increasingly aware of the professional and human requirements for caring” for those in mental or emotional distress. He noted that “the medical profession itself benefits from integral care of the person. Caring for others is not just a skilled job, but a real mission, which is fully realized when scientific knowledge meets the fullness of humanity and is translated into the tenderness that knows how to approach and take others to heart.” He encouraged the participants to help society “fully overcome the stigma with which mental illness has often been branded and, in general, to ensure that the culture of community prevails over the mentality of rejection….”

As we care for those who seek treatment at SLI, we offer integral care for the person as a whole – body, mind, and spirit – of which Pope Francis spoke so eloquently. In so doing, we make concrete the healing ministry of Christ, and, we pray, honor in our own work the ministry and legacy of Pope Francis.

We join in offering our prayers for him and for the Church.