The Chair is Vacant, Let’s Unite in Prayer

Christy Romero | 04/25/2025

“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3

The death of Pope Francis has brought a lot of disunity in our Church. The article that I posted earlier this week titled “Pope Francis, just like Jesus, was very much misunderstood,” brought about an onslaught of comments, and most of them were very negative and derogatory. Someone commented “Blasphemy,” and another one called him a “fallen priest.” It saddens me that at a time that we should be united as a Church in prayer, we are spreading judgment, hatred and slander.

This is a moment of transition for the Catholic Church. This period is known as “sede vacante,” a Latin term that refers to the period when the papal chair is vacant. Until the new Pope is chosen, we should be praying, not criticizing. My grandmother always told me not to speak ill of the dead, but apparently, a lot of people have never heard that. The death of Pope Francis, our spiritual shepherd and the Vicar of Christ for the last twelve years, whether we liked him or not, should unite us, not divide us. The world is watching us, and what they are witnessing is a divided Church instead of a Church united in prayer.

Tomorrow we begin the nine days of mourning. We should be praying for the soul of the Pope, not condemning him. Thank God that is not our job because after reading all the censure that has been written about him, if we had to decide each other’s sentence, we would all end up in hell. We love to condemn, criticize, and gossip, but before we do that, we should look in the mirror. “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). We all need to kneel in silence, and ask for forgiveness.

While we wait for the white column of smoke that will announce that we have a new pope, let’s unite in prayer for our new shepherd, and for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. Let’s pray that the cardinals allow the Holy Spirit to guide them in their selection. And let’s pray that whomever our new shepherd will be, that he can lead us, the lost sheep, with wisdom, love, and prudence, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

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About the Author

Christy Romero

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My name is Christy Romero and I am a cradle Catholic. I met my husband, Rafael, 46 years ago on a Youth Encounter, and we got married four years later. We have three young adult children who are all happily married, and two grandsons that have stolen our hearts. Even though I have always loved writing, God took me on a different career path. I graduated with a degree in Accounting in 1986, and thirty years ago, I established my practice to help small businesses and individuals with their tax filings. Last year, I decided to retire to spend more time with my growing family, and to dedicate more time to writing. I created a blog to share my meditations ten years ago, and I have a faithful following of family and friends. Now, I feel God urging me to share the Good News of the Church that He established over 2,000 years ago with a larger audience. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “I am just a little pencil in the hand of a writing God sending a love letter to the world.” You can find more of my writings at https://christysmeditations.blogspot.com/