Cathedral hosts special Mass following death of Pope Francis

Following the death of Pope Francis, over two dozen priests and 70 lay faithful gathered for a special Mass for the repose of his soul at St. Joseph Cathedral on Wednesday, April 23.

Pope Francis had been hospitalized with bronchitis and a respiratory infection from mid-February through March 23, but appeared to be on the mend. It was announced the morning of April 21 that he had died of a stroke at 7:35 a.m. Vatican time. 

“My brothers and sisters, we gather this evening with a sense of sadness, but also with a sense of hope and joy as we remember the life and ministry of our late holy father, Pope Francis,” said Bishop Michael W. Fisher continuing with his Easter message of hope through resurrection. “It is the Easter season. We believe in the resurrection after death. This is the Good News. This is the news of hope.”

During his homily, Bishop Fisher spoke about twice meeting with Pope Francis. The first time came in 2015 as the pope celebrated Mass at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

“It was a beautiful spring day. There were thousands of priests, thousands of people. He was received with such great joy. I remember distinctly when he was leaving, I was sort of in the midst of a big crowd. I was by his (Ford Focus). I wondered how he was going to fit into this little car with all the Secret Service, but he did.”

They met again during an ad limina visit – regular visits bishops make to update the pope on their dioceses.

“I remember going up to him and he was very kind. I was a relatively new bishop at that time. He shook my hand with both of his hands. That’s a warm way of greeting somebody. He looked me in the eye. I sensed a real kindness and that he was truly giving me his attention. It wasn’t one of those handshakes where they sort of move you down the line. He took time to talk to me,” Bishop Fisher recalled.

Francis told the bishop, “Be a good shepherd and walk with your people.”

“I think this simple phrase has stayed with me. It was not just a sound bite he was given to me. But it captured our holy father’s entire approach to leadership and faith. He saw the Church not as some institution that had somehow arrived in its place, but as a people who were on a journey together.”

Pope Francis’ papacy was marked by concern for the poor and his tireless work for peace. His death surprised many as he was still active blessing and praying on Easter Sunday. 

“Pope Francis changed how many of us think about faith, leadership and unity,” Bishop Fisher said. “I believe his legacy will continue to shake the Church and the world certainly in the years to come.

“In this Easter season we continue as a people of God. In this Jubilee Year, as he has called us to be pilgrims of hope, pilgrims of hope to journey with the Lord as those two disciples did with the risen Lord shortly after His resurrection on the road to Emmaus.”

At the close of the Mass, Bishop Fisher reminded the congregation to pray not only for the soul of Pope Francis, but for that of our next leader.

 “The seat is empty but the seat is never empty because the Holy Spirit is there. I think the Holy Spirit is in charge. We want to pray that the Holy Spirit sends us a wonderful shepherd,” he said.

After Mass, Bishop Fisher shared his thoughts of the late pontiff with the media.

“The most important thing we can do at this time is to pray,” he said. “The people that were here were coming with a sense of prayer for the holy father, but also prayers for the Church as we move forward and prepare to hopefully have a new shepherd. I’m sure our prayers were united with many of our brothers and sisters around the diocese as well as around the world.”

The Church will observe a nine day mourning period of prayer for Pope Francis called the Novemdiales.

The bishop said he admired Francis’ humanity characterized by a great love of the poor and disenfranchised.

“Certainly his call, as all of us are called, is to be servants. We celebrated the Holy Thursday celebration last week where we washed the feet of parishioners. That was sort of reenacting our Lord’s call to all of us to service. And his humility. I really feel as Church we need to be humble servants of our people. Sometimes we fail at that, and other times we do the best we can with the gifts we have.”