‘He embraced all people’: Californians mourn a pope who shared their values, brought excitement to church
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Catholics across California mourned the death of Pope Francis on Monday, paying tribute to his modernization of the Roman Catholic Church and steadfast commitment to the poor and marginalized.
Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, never visited California. But he forged a close bond with the more than 5 million Catholics who live in Los Angeles, largely because he nudged the church to a more tolerant position on social issues — by urging compassion for immigrants, arguing for tolerance of gay people and advocating for action on climate change.
“I have to say what I’m feeling today is very personal,” the Archbishop of Los Angeles, José H. Gomez, told a crowd of nearly 2,000 mourners and tourists who poured into a noon Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. “I’m going to miss him — big time.”
Francis, the Catholic Church’s 266th leader, made history when he became the first Latin American pontiff in 2013.
Born in 1936 in Argentina to Italian immigrants, he was also the first Pope to take his papal name from St. Francis of Assisi, a saint who dedicated his life to serving the poor.
Gomez said Francis was like a wise father, a big brother. The fact that he was from a Latin American country — and the first pope to speak Spanish — meant a lot to people in that part of the world, including immigrants in L.A.
“It was very special to us,” Gomez, who was born in Monterrey, Mexico, said after the afternoon Mass. “For us, it was a clear manifestation of the presence of the church in our countries and sense of joy knowing that we are an important part of the life of the church.”
Outside the cathedral, which serves the largest population of Catholics in the United States, mourners lay bouquets of red and white roses, white lilies and pink carnations Monday morning at the feet of a mosaic of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Inside, Cynthia Cook and her mother, Julieta Camacha, offered their silent prayers as cathedral bells rang overhead.
“I was just in shock, because I thought he was recovering,” Cook said of Francis.
The day before, she had watched news reports of Francis giving the traditional Easter blessing Sunday from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Cook said Francis embodied a love for everyone.
“As the head of the Catholic Church, he put it out that immigrants are God’s children,” she said.
In Riverside, Isabel Torres prayed to God and asked for his guidance after the end of a packed morning Mass at Queen of Angels Catholic Church.
Torres, who works at the church as a cleaner, said she was very sad when she found out about Francis’ death. “But at the same time,” she said in Spanish, ”I thanked God for the time he gave us with him.”
A Mexican immigrant, Torres saw Francis as a reflection of God and an example for the way the Catholic community should live, primarily through humility. She particularly appreciated how Francis urged compassion for migrants.
“With the help of God almighty, I hope the death of the Pope touches the hearts of these presidents,” Torres said. “And that they see us all the same and that they understand we have the right to this world, no matter the race or color.”
Pope Francis, whose warm, humble, no-nonsense manner galvanized the Roman Catholic Church and drew widespread admiration from outsiders, has died.
Immigrants across southern California valued Francis’ constant emphasis on the right to migrate, said the Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, emeritus professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
“It’s a fundamental human right, but it’s not one always appreciated by government, Rausch said.
After holding Mass at Queen of Angels chapel, the Rev. Benediktus Obon said he hoped the new pontiff would continue the legacy left behind by Francis.
“He was a man of peace,” Obon said. “He loved humanity. He embraced all people, and didn’t care who you were. We are all creatures of God.”
Obon acknowledged the role Francis played in changing the negative narrative surrounding the Catholic Church before he took over as pope.
“His presence in the church brought lots of good things,” Obon said. “He also brought lots of people back to church. For the community, this is a big loss.”
For Obon, it was important that the next pope carries out the criticism of the current U.S. administration’s treatment of immigrants that Francis carried out until the last day of his life when he met with Vice President J.D. Vance.
“See them as human beings first, see them as part of yourself in other people,” he said.
Just months after assuming the papacy in 2013, Francis took his first official trip outside Rome to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa to focus on the plight of migrants and asylum seekers.
“We have this enormous number of people on the move today, fleeing poverty, injustice, war, violence, and he’s shown a real concern for that,” Rausch said.
Francis also used his platform to urge tolerance for gay Catholics. “If a person is gay, and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” he told a reporter in 2013.
In 2022, Francis met with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and she received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, after San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone barred her from receiving the sacrament in his archdiocese because of her stance on abortion rights.
Pope Francis, whose leadership of the Roman Catholic Church has resonated with many Californians, celebrates his 10th anniversary as pope on March 13.
Pelosi was one of many political figures across California who paid tribute to Francis. In a statement Monday, she descirbed him as “a beacon of charity, hope and love for all people of faith,”
“He saw God in all His creatures,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Catholic who met Francis last year when he attended a climate summit at the Vatican. At the time, Newsom was struck by Francis’ praise of California’s position on the death penalty.
“Pope Francis led with his love of peace and creation and sought to protect and lift up the vulnerable,” Newsom said in a statement. “His papacy was defined by moral courage, a deep respect for all creation, and a profound belief in the power of love to heal and unite.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who is not Catholic, celebrated Francis as a spiritual leader who forged connections with Angelenos of all denominations.
“He reached millions of hearts far beyond the Catholic Church,” she said in a statement, “with his words on the greatest challenges facing our world, from war to poverty to climate change to the marginalization of LGBTQ+ people.”
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