That we must ask for, an "anchor that we have on the other side, where Jesus awaits us".

In moments of joy as well as in moments of trial, even when death is approaching, "let us repeat, as Job did: I know that my Redeemer lives, and I will see Him with my own eyes". This is Christian hope, the Pope said, a gift that only the Lord can give us, if we ask Him for it. Today, "in the thought of so many brothers and sisters who have died, it will do us good to look up".

This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis' homily during Mass for the deceased faithful, celebrated on Monday afternoon, All Souls' Day, in the church of the Pontifical Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Camposanto. The Pope then prayed at the tombs of the Vatican cemetery and in the Vatican Grottoes, at the tombs of the deceased Pontiffs.