Catholics across the US mourn Pope Francis' death: 'loving pastor, challenging teacher'
Catholics across the country began reflecting on loss and legacy of Pope Francis. Many celebrated his humility and concern for the poor.
For Idalia Nieves-Reyes, a treasured photo of Pope Francis was her anchor.
The framed photo was among the belongings she packed in her luggage when she moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland in 2013. Along with Francis’ teachings, the photograph, which now hangs on her wall in Milwaukee among family photos, has been a guiding light for Nieves-Reyes in her daily life.
"It was trust," she said. "It was: 'Don't be afraid. Don't look back.'"
Across the United States, Nieves-Reyes and other Catholics mourned the death of Francis, whose humility and heartfelt concern for the marginalized endeared him to the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics and beyond.
Francis died at the Vatican a day after appearing at St. Peter's Square to bless thousands of Easter worshippers. His death came weeks after he was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and other health issues during an extended hospital stay. He was 88.
The child of Italian immigrants, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was largely unknown when he became pope in 2013, the Vatican’s first pope originating from the Americas. Francis wasted no time making his views known on issues ranging from social justice to disparities of wealth, decrying the dangers of capitalism and nationalism.
Nieves-Reyes, who oversees a hot lunch program for the homeless and hungry at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, said she appreciated Francis' openness, humility and accessibility, as well as his embrace of people of different backgrounds and faiths.
As a lay person and a woman in ministry, she respected that Francis placed people from both of those groups in more decision-making roles in the Catholic church. And as someone who works with the homeless and hungry, she said, it was meaningful to see Francis dine with Rome's poorest residents at annual dinners.
"I have no words to describe how much, and how greatly, his teachings impacted me, not only personally, but also spiritually and professionally," Nieves-Reyes said.
Francis praised as voice for immigrants and the poor
American Catholics praised Francis as a progressive voice for immigrants and the poor. He appealed for immediate action on climate change, called for women to take more active roles in the church and opened the door to church discussion of LGBTQ+ issues.
Nick DiGrandi, of Mahopac, New York, was a senior at Kennedy Catholic high school in Somers, New York, when Francis met with students at Harlem's Our Lady Queen of Angels School during his September 2015 visit. DiGrandi still recalls the excitement awaiting the pope’s arrival, clutching a prayer card for his aunt for Francis to bless.
“His Holiness held the card with me as he blessed it,” said DiGrandi, now a 27-year-old chemist. “I felt that he was present with me in that moment among all the other thousands of people I’m sure he spoke with on that trip. That is something I will never forget and I am so grateful to have had that experience.”
While DiGrandi's relationship with the church has changed, “his words have often reminded me of the humanity we need to cherish from people of different walks of life, different lived experiences, and people who might not look like me."
In El Paso, Texas, Dylan Corbett heard the news of the pope’s death from a former colleague at the Vatican. For years, he worked for Francis’ working group on migration, ministering to migrants in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
“He was someone who deeply identified with the world’s poor, in service to those who were ‘pushed off the page,’ as he put it,” Corbett said. “It is one of his most enduring gifts to the church. That was what Jesus was about: service to the poor and the dispossessed. He brought leadership that we hadn’t seen in centuries.”
Now, Corbett runs the Hope Border Institute, a Catholic migrant aid organization in El Paso. During his years of service to Francis, he watched as the pontiff reorganized the Vatican to focus on supporting the poor and local churches. Corbett traveled to Rome but worked in the field, along migrant routes through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border.
“We were the change that he hoped for the Church,” Corbett said. “We were empowering people on the margins.”
On a chilly, cloudy morning in New York state's Rockland County, the Rev. Steven M.P. Neier led a joyful yet solemn Mass on April 21 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Congers. Bright colored flowers still adorned the entryway after Easter Sunday Mass, the day before.
Neier said Francis' death seemed “almost perfect.”
“None of us chooses the day that we die, but what a way to end his life at this time when we celebrate the resurrection,” he said.
Muriel Savoy Moloney, 94, of East Weymouth, Massachusetts, a lifelong Catholic who attends weekly Mass and still watches Mass every day on television, said she appreciated that Francis "loved everybody."
"He didn't care if you were rich or poor, a believer or even an atheist," Moloney said. "He believed that God made you, so you were worth loving. He had so much empathy for everyone, and I think he was born with that... Listening to him, you could believe he didn't think anyone was evil and always felt there was room for anybody to change. "
Carl Sawejko, of Swansea, Massachusetts, said Francis “wanted to be with the people.”
"He transcended religion,” said Sawejko, who grew up Catholic, becoming an altar boy and playing the organ once he could reach the pedals. “He really welcomed everyone to the church.”
Wil Tyrrell, a former Franciscan who met the pontiff face-to-face in New York City in June 2015, said Francis' Latin American roots "gave another face of the universal Catholic Church that was desperately needed."
The pope, Tyrrell said, set an example by sitting down with Vice President JD Vance, whose policies run counter to those of the pontiff when it comes to Gaza and immigration, in one of his final meetings.
"It was nice to see that, but that's Francis," Tyrrell said. "There he is sitting with someone he probably disagrees with vehemently and he's reconciling the moment."
For abuse survivors, news of death marks 'difficult day'
Others noted the pope's complicated legacy. Sarah Pearson of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, said that April 21 is a “difficult day," calling Francis' legacy "a tragedy for survivors."
“As praise pours in from around the world, we are mourning all the lives that have been damaged by sexual abuse,” she said.
As Archbishop Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Pearson said, Francis covered up cases of sexual abuse and had an opportunity "to atone for his actions" by enacting "a binding and university zero tolerance law in the Catholic Church" that would remove known abusers from ministry.
"He failed to do this," she said. "As a result, thousands of vulnerable people have been abused. This painful legacy cannot be ignored.”
Catholic church leaders mourn Pope
Former President Joe Biden, the nation's second Catholic president, shared his thoughts about Pope Francis in a post on X. Biden in January awarded Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the highest U.S. civilian honor.
"Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him," said Biden, who has often talked about how his Catholic faith helped him survive the death of his first wife and their daughter in a 1972 car crash. "As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths. He commanded us to fight for peace and protect our planet from a climate crisis. He advocated for the voiceless and powerless."
"He made all feel welcome and seen by the Church," Biden wrote. "He promoted equity and an end to poverty and suffering across the globe. And above all, he was a Pope for everyone. He was the People's Pope ‒ a light of faith, hope, and love."
Francis was also mourned by church leaders across the country.
"He was a man of deep faith, profound humility, and unshakable hope ‒ a servant whose tireless call to care for the poor and the marginalized will continue to inspire the Church for generations to come," Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, said in a statement.
In Boston, Archbishop Richard Henning, who was appointed in 2024, said Francis' legacy is "broad and deep."
"In his ministry and across his writings he has continuously called us to deeper faith and to a more generous participation in the boundless compassion of God," Henning said in a statement. "He has challenged us to turn away from selfish impulses and towards communion with others and respect for God's creation."
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, delivered a heartfelt tribute to Francis following the Gospel reading on Easter Monday morning Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on April 21, referencing the Easter story of when women discovered Jesus’ empty tomb.
"Yes, we are sad,” Dolan said. “But we are also confident in the faith that we celebrated yesterday, Easter Sunday. ... We are filled with Easter joy. When we believers are a little lost and don't know what to do, we always rely on prayer.
In a statement, Dolan said he was honored to have participated in the conclave that elected Francis to the office of Pontiff in 2013 and to have welcomed him to New York City in 2015.
"He touched us all with his simplicity," Dolan said, "with his heart of a humble servant."
Contributing: Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer; Peter Kramer and Ashley Fontones, Westchester Journal News; Margie Cullen, Katie Landeck and Caitlyn Kelleher, Paste BN Network - New England; Courtney Subramanian, Lauren Villagran and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Paste BN; Reuters