Pope urges prayers for parents who have lost a child

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a child dies, there is not much anyone can say to the mother or father, Pope Francis said, but Catholics must pray for them and be close to them.

"It is not natural to outlive your child," the pope said in a video explaining the intention he would like Catholics to pray for during the month of November.

The pope's message encouraging prayers "for those who have lost a child" was released by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network Oct. 31. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month, and members of the network pray for that intention each day.

In the video, the pope repeated the adage that "when one spouse loses the other, they are a widower or a widow. A child who loses a parent is an orphan. There's a word for that. But when a parent loses a child, there's no word. The pain is so great that there's no word."

Because the pain of losing a child is so intense, he said, "words of encouragement," offered with the best of intentions, often are unhelpful and may even "end up aggravating the wound."

"To offer comfort to these parents who have lost a child, we need to listen to them, to be close to them with love, to care responsibly for the pain they feel, imitating how Jesus Christ consoled those who were afflicted," Pope Francis said.

Parents who have lost a child and have found comfort in their faith can help others who have suffered "such a terrible tragedy" find support and understanding, he said.

In November, the pope said, "let us pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community and may receive peace of heart from the Spirit of consolation."