IBPC chairman remembers Pope Francis on his final journey

• “We raise our hearts in gratitude to the Eternal Lord for blessing us with a shepherd who sought to heal a broken world,” said Kaizar Shakir, Chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) in Kuwait.

Today, the world came together to bid farewell to a shepherd who lived with humility, spoke with gentleness, and embodied the values he preached. In Rome, heads of state, cardinals, priests, and people from around the world gathered to pray and mourn. They spoke of peace, forgiveness, kindness, and hope — the ideals Pope Francis championed throughout his life, said Kaizar Shakir, Chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) in Kuwait.

Shaker further said, as the prayers rose and the bells tolled, one could not help but wonder: how many words spoken today came from the heart, and how many were simply duty-bound speeches, wrapped in tradition and ritual?

“For among those in the front rows were leaders who, once back in their palaces and parliaments, will order wars, sanction oppression, and chase power without pause. Their hands folded in prayer today may tomorrow sign papers that bring suffering to thousands. Such is the deep sadness of our world — where words are heavy with sorrow for a day, but hearts remain untouched the next.

Still, hope does not die — not even on a day like this.

For in the quiet corners, away from the cameras, were simple souls — some weeping, some silently whispering a prayer of thanks. They came not for appearance, but for love. They came not for obligation, but for connection. They came because they saw in Pope Francis a true servant of God — someone who lived and died reminding us that there is still good in the world, if only we open our hearts.

Today, we pray for Pope Francis.

We pray for all those who sacrificed their lives for peace,” added Shaker.

“We lift up our hearts in gratitude to the Eternal Lord, for giving us a shepherd who tried to heal a broken world.

And we pray, too, for those leaders with stone hearts — that somewhere in the midst of their busy lives, a small light may reach them. That the words they spoke today may one day pierce through their pride. That they may remember what they promised at his funeral — and change, even if just a little.

May the angels carry our prayers higher.

May Pope Francis find the peace he so often prayed for.

May we never lose hope, even when the world around us feels cold,” concluded the IBPC chairman.