Bishop of Porto, D. Manuel Linda, who led the funeral mass for Diogo Jota and André Silva, delivered an emotional message to the family during the homily.
D. Manuel Linda took the opportunity to express that he was praying for Diogo Jota’s children, who were not present at the ceremony, and admitted that “there are no words” for what happened, but “there are feelings.”
“Dear Dinis, Mafalda, and Duarte, children who are not here. At this moment, you suffer immensely or perhaps not because you may not realize it. I will pray a lot for you. The ones who suffer a lot are your mother and your grandparents. Seeing the remains of a child must be greater torment, but when it is two caskets, there are no words. But there are feelings. We are here to say that we also suffer greatly. We are here emotionally with you,” he said, according to international and national press present at the mass, which took place at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar.
“It is human to cry. Woe to us if we did not,” he noted.
In his message, he reminded that those present wanted to say goodbye out of “solidarity in love and because faith in God gives us the certainty of eternal life.”
Finally, he addressed the children of the Portuguese international once more. “If it is difficult to see an adult cry, it is even more difficult to see a child. I send you a special greeting from your mother and grandparents. I am with you but Jesus is also with you,” he concluded.
Due to logistical limitations, a speaker system was installed so the thousands present outside the church could hear the ceremony.
The funeral ceremonies for Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva are taking place today in Gondomar, with family, friends, former teammates, and thousands of civilians bidding farewell to the footballers.
Diogo Jota, aged 28, and his brother André Silva, aged 25, who played for Penafiel, died early Thursday morning in a car accident on the A52 in Cernadilla, Zamora, Spain.
The Portuguese international forward played for Liverpool, where he was a player for five seasons, winning an English League, an FA Cup, and two League Cups, also becoming a champion of the Championship, the second tier in English football, with Wolverhampton.
After training at Gondomar and Paços de Ferreira, the forward played for one season at FC Porto on loan from Atlético de Madrid, before being transferred to Wolverhampton by the Spanish club, where he spent three seasons.
In the Portuguese national team, Diogo Jota earned 49 caps and scored 14 goals, winning two editions of the Nations League, the most recent last month in Munich.
