The Vatican recently launched Piazza San Pietro, a monthly magazine this is part of its outreach for the 2025 Jubilee Year. This publication, available in Italian, English, and Spanish, features a special section where Pope Francis responds to letters from readers. In its latest issue, the Pope answers a heartbreaking letter from a grieving mother, offering words of consolation and faith.
Cinzia, a mother from Rome, lost her 21-year-old son, Fabrizio, in a tragic car accident. In her letter to the Pope, she shares the unbearable pain of losing a child and asks profound questions: Why did God not save Fabrizio? Where is he now? Has he become our guardian angel?
She also speaks of the journey she and her husband have taken — from despair and loss of faith to finding purpose through volunteer work and the founding of a non-profit organization promoting road safety.
Cinzia’s letter reads:
After the tragedy, my husband and I were plunged into darkness. We felt hatred, anger, pain, and we lost our faith. Then, on December 8, 2019, thanks to Mary, I found my way back to faith and started praying again. But my husband still can’t. We realized we had to do something to get back up and give meaning to this disaster. We became Red Cross volunteers to help those who suffer and need assistance. We also founded a non-profit association, Insieme per Fabrizio APS, to promote a culture that values life, especially through road safety education in schools and public spaces.
Even Jesus weeps
Pope Francis acknowledges the depth of her suffering, emphasizing that there are no words in any language that one can give to a parent who has lost a child. He assures her that even Jesus weeps with those who mourn and encourages her to find solace in prayer.
The Pope quotes St. John Paul II: “There is no evil from which God cannot bring forth a greater good.” He reminds her that while human understanding falls short in the face of tragedy, God’s love is greater than any suffering. Francis writes:
Your prayer is born from the most harrowing and unnatural pain: the loss of your son, Fabrizio. I recently said, as you recall, that there are no words — not even words of comfort, no matter how well-intentioned — that can truly help. Even these words of mine might only deepen the wound.
Know that I am with you, and I wish I could console you as Jesus consoled the afflicted and encouraged them to hope.
There is not even a word to describe a mother or father who loses a child. A woman who loses her husband is a widow. A man who loses his wife is a widower. A child who loses a parent is an orphan. But for a parent who loses a child — there is no word.
Beyond his own expression of comfort, the Pope invites Cinzia to place her trust in Mary, who endured the agony of losing her own Son. He cites a prayer by Don Tonino Bello, Vergine dell’attesa, which speaks of waiting as a sign of hope.
In times of deep sorrow, Francis writes, we may not find immediate answers, but we can be certain of Christ’s presence, sowing in our hearts the truths we seek.
When the Holy Father was leaving the Gemelli after his stay in 2023, he got out of the car to pray with a couple whose daughter had passed the night before. The extremely moving scene was caught by journalists.
More in the magazine
In the current issue of Piazza San Pietro, Cardinal Charles Bo also highlights the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, urging continued prayers for peace. Sister Simona Brambilla, a missionary of charity, writes about encountering Christ through acts of compassion, while artist Maurizio Cattelan discusses the role of provocation in art in an interview for the magazine's cultural section.
With this new magazine, the Vatican hopes to foster a more personal dialogue between the Pope and the faithful, offering spiritual insight into life’s most pressing questions.
Piazza San Pietro subscriptions are available via email at abbonamenti@piazzasanpietro.va, with free access for those unable to afford it.
