Chris McDonnell: The empty chair

The doors are sealed

The ring is broken

The chair is empty

Francis has been called to his place

After his burial in simple style

The conclave will gather

To elect his successor

“Habemus papam”

In affirmation

Of acceptance.

Chris McDonnell 22 April 2025.

Similar Posts

Reflections on Reflections

Blog
3 Comments

Seamus Ahearne is ruminating again on the everyday goings on in church and life: “It is right to be critical.  There is much to be critical about.  But the warmth, heart and fun of Church has to be celebrated.  Faith of course isn’t ‘Happy Clappy’ but there needs to be a Lifting of the Heart and a smile.  Always.”

One Comment

  1. Peadar O'Callaghan says:

    Thanks Chris for reminding me on this Divine Mercy Sunday that the empty chair belongs to Peter’s successor.
    Who would have thought that a week after that iconic image of Francis’ final blessing from his wheel-chair to the city and the world Presidents Trump and Zelensky would be pictured in St. Peter’s Basilica sitting face to face having a chat? I hope it l gets as much publicity as the one from the WH.
    Today on Divine Mercy Sunday – (second day of the Novemdiali) let us recall Cardinal Re’s plea to ‘Franciscus’ at the end of his funeral homily to intercede for the Church, for Rome, and the whole world from heaven:
    “Dear Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
    Many will be sad on this Sunday but I am confident that the Cardinal electors in the forthcoming conclave will appoint the one whom the Holy Spirit will chose to succeed Peter.
    Francis reminded us last Sunday of what a wonderful gift it is to bless people with the power and sign of the Cross – of God’s mercy when in union with the successor of Peter.

    Reply

Join the Discussion

Keep the following in mind when writing a comment

  • Your comment must include your full name, and email. (email will not be published). You may be contacted by email, and it is possible you might be requested to supply your postal address to verify your identity.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger. Comments containing vulgarities, personalised insults, slanders or accusations shall be deleted.
  • Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.
  • Including multiple links or coding in your comment will increase the chances of it being automati cally marked as spam.
  • Posts that are merely links to other sites or lengthy quotes may not be published.
  • Brevity. Like homilies keep you comments as short as possible; continued repetitions of a point over various threads will not be published.
  • The decision to publish or not publish a comment is made by the site editor. It will not be possible to reply individually to those whose comments are not published.