On Wednesday, October 21, 2020 a requiem Mass was celebrated for late Franciscan Fr. Shadi Bader, parish priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Latakia, Syria, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Husun, southeast of Irbid Governorate. Fr. Shadi, who died following a road accident, was buried at the Franciscan Cemetery on Mt. Nebo in Jordan.

The Mass was concelebrated by parish priest Fr. Ramiz D’aibis and representative of the Custody of the Holy Land Ammar Shahin. In attendance were relatives of the late priest, a number of nuns and a large number of people.

Fr. Iyad Bader, who celebrated the Mass said, “When dear person dies and proceeds to eternal life, the children of Christ repeat the following words: ‘Christ is Raised, He is Truly Risen.’ With this faith and hope, we pray for the soul of the young priest, Shadi Hani Bader, who moved ahead of us to eternal life, a place of rest, peace and tranquility.

In his homily, Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader said: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor.’(Luke 4:18) This is the verse which Fr. Shadi Bader chose as a slogan for his priesthood and adopted throughout his priestly career, which God wished it would not be long, yet it was filled with the Spirit of the Lord Who anointed him to preach the good tidings to the poor as he followed all the time the steps of Lord Jesus Christ.”

Then he reviewed the life of Fr. Shadi Bader and thanked the Franciscan Order, the Latin Patriarchate, the Rosary sisters and all the authorities who helped transfer the body to Jordan.

Later, Rosary Sister Caroline Bader said in a eulogy, “We have lost a body but we have won a saint in heavens. The grace of the Lord is better than the life.”