That night I said goodbye to him. “Goodbye, Francisco! If you go to heaven tonight, don’t forget me when you get there, do you hear me?” “No, I won’t forget. Be sure of that.” Then seizing my right hand, he held it tightly for a long time, looking at me with tears in his eyes. “Do you want anything more?” I asked him, with tears running down my cheeks too. “No!” he answered in a low voice, quite overcome.
As the scene was becoming so moving, my aunt told me to leave the room. “Goodbye then, Francisco! Till we meet in heaven, goodbye!” Heaven was drawing near. He took his flight to heaven the following day in the arms of his heavenly Mother. I could never describe how much I missed him. This grief was a thorn that pierced my heart for years to come. It is a memory of the past that echoes forever unto eternity.
‘Twas night: I lay peacefully dreaming
That on this festive longed-for day
Of heavenly union, the Angels above
Vied with us here in holy emulation!
What golden crown beyond all telling,
What garland of flowers garnered here below
Could equal the crown heaven was offering
Angelic beauty, all earthly longing stilled.
The joy, the smile, of our loving Mother
In the heavenly realms, he lives in God
Ravished with love, with joys surpassing,
Those years on earth were so swift, so fleeting…
Farewell!