Worshippers began trickling in just before the noon Mass on Monday at Christ the King in Irondequoit.
The day’s service originally was canceled but put back on after the death of Pope Francis earlier in the day.
Father Lance Gonyo said Pope Francis’ legacy is marked by compassion and a belief in peace
“His great trademark was was his emphasis on mercy — mercy toward the poor, to those afflicted with troubles, to the unborn,” Gonyo said. “He had a great sensitivity and compassion to people, and I think that was really the main attraction for people that weren’t even of the Catholic faith.”
The 88-year-old pontiff died Monday at his home in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. His last public appearance was Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Pope Francis had served as the head of the Catholic Church since 2013.
“Pope Francis constantly called us to mercy,” Bishop Salvatore Matano of the Rochester Catholic Diocese said in a statement, continuing later: “Motivated by the love of Christ Jesus, he reminded us recently that “Dilexit nos,” “He loved us,” ... and Pope Francis wanted this love to extend to all God’s People.”
For worshippers at Christ the King, “compassion” was the hallmark phrase used to describe Pope Francis’s leadership.
Mary Piccone of Irondequoit said that while she disagreed with some of Pope Francis’s political stances, she admired his affinity toward people.
“He is a true person that cares about people,” Piccone said. “He is probably one of the best popes that actually cared about people in general, and how they feel.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul recalled meeting Pope Francis last year when she was invited to the Vatican to speak at a Pontifical Summit about climate change. Speaking in Rochester after a budget-related address, she called him “a man of peace but a fighter for justice.”
“He made a comment that struck me, that he says, ‘God does not abandon any of his children,’” Hochul said. “And that means he was fighting for the marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants, people who are impoverished, people who are in prison. Those are the ones that he gave God's compassion to. That's how I was raised as a Catholic, as a social justice Catholic."
Timothy Thibodeau is a retired professor emeritus of history at Nazareth University, with a research focus on the history of Christianity. In an interview Monday with WXXI Morning Edition host Beth Adams, he spoke about Pope Francis’ final public appearance in St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, where he rode in a vehicle and greeted throngs of people.
This is an excerpt from that interview, starting with Thibodeau (Adams’ questions appear in bold):
“My impression of all of this standing outside of being a historian, but looking at the humanity of the situation that unfolded yesterday, he will be remembered for his last appearance and his first appearance. Everything in between that, (which) commentators and pundits and academics and scholars will reflect on, won't be part of the public memory. The public memory is his instincts as a pastor, his desire to be close to the people. I think it was profoundly moving for the people who witnessed that, who were there. Whether consciously or subconsciously he knew this would be his last day, I think for him, it was the way he wanted to go. It a fitting end to everything he tried to accomplish as pope.”
He distinguished himself in so many ways. He was the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit pope, but he also broke with some long-standing traditions, for instance, by allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. He gave priest permission to absolve women who had terminated pregnancies. It seemed as though he was separating the doctrine of the Church from the way individuals should be viewed and treated.
“Yeah, and that's a complicated subject. I think he sent multiple mixed messages. If you look at his record as pope from a kind of academic perspective, he did something to pretty much offend everyone, whether they're on the more conservative, traditionalist Catholic side or the more progressive Catholic side. His handling, for example, of sex abuse among clergy, he gets mixed marks. That is, he got off to, I think, a rough start on that topic. But then, he saw the light and was more respectful of abuse victims.
“As far as the teachings of the Church, I think people talk about the ‘Francis effect’ and his style, and I think a lot of what he did in terms of having the church move in a more progressive direction was stylistic. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has not changed.
“Progressives were disappointed he did not change his position on abortion, and, in fact, (he) became more adamant. He did not fundamentally change the church's understanding of prohibiting contraception, and he did not change the church teaching on ordaining married men or even permitting women to be ordained or to become permanent deacons, as men are.
“So I think there will be a battle royale internally in the next election. And I think a lot of people who are interested in this have the precedent of a movie that came out called 'Conclave.' The movie is a fantasy world in different ways. It gets some of that right in terms of how the process unfolds in the Vatican and how the Cardinals are sequestered, etc. And it also gets right some of the political conflicts that are, I think, since the election of Pope Benedict XVI, these conflicts are more out in the open now. Even though there's a veil of secrecy, and there's a threat of excommunication among the cardinals who are electing the next pope that they can't leak things to the press, I do think we will have leaks. I do think we'll get all kinds of back-channel stories about what's going on. I think it will be a fascinating thing to witness, because the majority of the cardinals were chosen by Pope Francis. But that really doesn't guarantee anything. I mean, I think these elections take on a personality and a life of their own internally.
“Twelve years ago, when Francis was elected, I never would have imagined or guessed that he was going to be elected. There were two or three others that everyone was saying, 'It will probably be this one or that one or the other one.' So we may be surprised yet again. And if the election of Francis is an indicator of how these things could play out, I think we need to hold our thoughts on who's inevitable in terms of being elected pope.”
Here in this country, in our political system, the pendulum tends to swing back and forth. There's a Democrat in office, then many people have an appetite for someone more conservative. One wonders if this will happen in the Conclave.
“You know it could. In terms of the dynamics of this election, I think what one of the most fascinating pieces of this for me is Pope Benedict resigned, and people forget that a pope had not resigned since the early 1400s right? And so, Benedict was still alive when Francis became pope, and that was a very fascinating and difficult situation, I think, for Francis, because the more conservative traditional people who had elected Benedict, and he was a conservative, because he was still alive, looked at him as still some kind of figurehead leader of an opposition within the church. With that gone now, where you don't have any emeritus pope or living pope, I wonder if the cardinals will change the way they think about this whole process and maybe move more freely.
“There certainly is a lot of tension within the Vatican and, you know, some of it is led by people in the American church who are well-funded and well-organized. Some of it in Europe is to push really hard, like we have to, quote 'undo the damage that was done by Francis.'
“I think most of the cardinals will be looking to avoid some kind of calamity like that, and we'll see if they can find a moderate or more centrist figure who could keep this all together without having explode into a political fight."
Includes reporting by WXXI News reporter Racquel Stephen.
