Pope Leo XIV says "the greatest miracle - the resurrection to eternal life...crowns every effort and labour of this life and fulfils them beyond the limits of time” in Funeral Homily for Cardinal Tscherrig FULL TEXT

Pope Leo XIV presided over the funeral Mass for Cardinal Paul Emil Tscherrig in the Vatican St Peter’s Basilica on Friday, 15 May 2026. At the Altar of the Chair in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV gave thanks for the late Swiss Cardinal, who died aged 79 on 12 May, for his decades of faithful service to the Holy See and entrusting him to the mercy of God.

PAPAL CHAPEL FOR THE FUNERAL OF CARDINAL PAUL EMIL TSCHERRIG
FULL TEXT HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Altar of the Chair of St. Peter's Basilica
Friday, May 15, 2026
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Dear brothers and sisters ,

Gathered around the Altar, we accompany our brother Paul Emil Tscherrig , Cardinal, as he presents himself to the Lord, to receive the reward for the good he has accomplished in this life and forgiveness for the shortcomings that human frailty may have caused.

It is the great and solemn moment of the encounter with the Lord whom he generously served, with the Friend at whose side he faithfully walked throughout his entire life, more than half of which was spent serving the Apostolic See in various Pontifical Representations and in the Secretariat of State.

He contributed, with the often unobtrusive but nonetheless diligent and tiring work typical of the ministry he exercised, to the growth of that Kingdom whose full fulfillment the first Reading spoke to us of: a Kingdom in which the sea of ​​chaos no longer exists and instead the new Jerusalem shines, built on the foundation of the Apostles, illuminated by the light of the Lamb and embellished by the merits of the Saints.

His commitment as a diplomat, and even more so as a pastor of the Church, saw this brother of ours work for many years, with patience and selflessness, to gather in harmony the peoples entrusted to his care by obedience (cf. Ps 121), even facing the obstacles and challenges that a Pontifical Representative is called to embrace for the good of all. He carried out his mission first as a collaborator in various Nunciatures, until his appointment, in 1996, as Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi; then to Trinidad and Tobago and several Caribbean nations, to South Korea and Mongolia, subsequently to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway, then to Argentina, and finally, in 2017, to Italy and San Marino. His vast ecclesial and international experience testifies to his availability and ability to adapt, in his pastoral charity, to very diverse environments: places and peoples to which he was sent, on behalf of the Holy Father, to build relationships of communion between the local Churches and the Apostolic See, as well as to strengthen bonds of friendship.

Now Cardinal Paul Emil meets his Lord, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of his existence (cf. Rev 21:6). We accompany him in this mysterious passing, illuminated by the Paschal Mystery, offering for him the Eucharistic Sacrifice and our prayers; and we wish to make this moment also an occasion for reflection and encouragement, to treasure the goodness of which he was, by the grace of God, a dispenser, with faith and dedication.

Pope Francis —whom Cardinal Tscherrig met when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires—in an address to diplomats invited them to let hope flourish around them, as a response to people's desire and expectation of good ( Address to the Diplomatic Corps , January 9, 2025). It is an invitation we too can embrace today, to put it into practice wherever we are called to serve and love our brothers and sisters. Our world greatly needs messengers who can help it regain trust, and the good witness of those God has chosen as his ministers can support us in responding to this call.

At the same time, however, faced with the mystery of death, we also want to remember that, beyond the events of this world, for whose good we are called to spend ourselves in this life, the ultimate foundation of all our hope lies beyond history and is founded on Christ's Easter, on his glorious victory over sin and death.

The Gospel reminds us how Jesus, shortly before his Passion, prefigured its mystery by bringing his friend Lazarus back to life. His liberation from the tomb is a sign to be seen with faith, to grasp its profound message. It is a sign we can find in the many miracles of return to life, which charity also produces through our ministry and our daily commitment to the Gospel. All of this, however, speaks to us of the greatest miracle: that of the resurrection to eternal life, which crowns all the efforts and labors of this life and fulfills its events beyond the limits of time.

This also reminds us of the essential dimension of the Church's mission, which embraces and illuminates all levels of her earthly activity. She operates in time, but her efforts have a goal beyond the realities of this world, aiming to "lead all things back to Christ, the one head" ( Eph 1:10), and to "the complete redemption of those whom God has possessed" (v. 14).

It is in this great light that we greet our beloved Cardinal Paul Emil Tscherrig, while in our hearts we hear addressed to us the words that Jesus said to Martha: "Your brother will rise again" ( Jn 11:23), "I am the resurrection and the life" (v. 25). We listen to them together with those chosen by the Cardinal himself, thirty years ago, as his motto for his episcopal ordination: " Spes mea Christus ". Christ, our Lord, was his hope throughout his life: a hope that did not disappoint him, because it was rooted in the love that God placed in his heart through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5) and which today is fulfilled forever.