International (MNN) — Much of the world will pause this weekend to mourn the passing of Pope Francis, who died the day after Easter Sunday. Born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was elected Pope in 2013 at the age of 76.
Leaders from across the world will be in attendance at the funeral on April 26.
To talk about this event, we connected with Chris Ruge at Prayercast, a ministry that raises prayer in the global Church for the lost.
(Photo courtesy of rawpixel via Unsplash.)
“We always look at the events going on around the world and ask the question, ‘how does this impact people who are lost around the world in one way or another?’” says Ruge.
Whether or not you are among the more than 1.4 billion people in the Catholic Church today, Ruge invites you to pray about this change.
“No one wants to see the gospel advance around the world more than God does,” he says. “So we pray for whoever is installed as the next Pope, that that person will be a key figure in leading a significant portion of God’s Church and shepherding that flock in a way that expands God’s worship and His praise around the world.”
Ruge points to 1 Timothy 2, which calls for Christians to pray for kings and all those in authority. He says it’s undeniable that the Pope will hold significant influence to speak to modern-day issues.
“So we come alongside and ask for God’s wisdom, for His mercy, and that He would continue to purify His Church in all of its forms around the world,” he says, “that His Church would be a pure bride and a reflection of His light, truth, love, justice, righteousness and holiness.”
Join in praying for the College of Cardinals who will be choosing the next Pope in the coming weeks.
Header photo of Vatican Obelisk, St. Peter’s Basilica (Photo courtesy of Castielli via Wikimedia Commons – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)
