Churchgoers streamed from San Fernando Cathedral into the afternoon sunlight Monday, some wiping away tears as they waited to greet the celebrant after a special mass.
Their mourning followed the Vatican’s early morning announcement that Pope Francis had died at age 88. His death came one day after he had emerged to bless the faithful on Easter Sunday after a long bout with pneumonia.
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller called the leader of the Catholic Church, a man he met several times, “the moral voice of the world.”
“From Jesuit provincial to Bishop of Rome, his vocation was forged in prayer and service,” García-Siller said in his homily during the noon mass. “He stood unafraid before entrenched interests, denouncing war, championing ecology and challenging the Church to be a ‘field hospital,’ for wounded humanity.”
Pope Francis made history in numerous ways at a pivotal time in Church history. Born of modest means in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the pontiff was elected in 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI retired.
He became the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas and the first from the Southern Hemisphere.
The 266th pope’s tenure also was marked by clashes with Church traditionalists for his embrace of a more inclusive Roman Catholic Church. “The tide was hard, but he never wavered,” García-Siller said. For those who were against him, the pope also prayed, he added.
Pope Francis spoke fervently of empathy for the poor and welcomed members of the LGBTQ+ community. Quoting from the encyclical “Fratelli tutti”, in 2023, the Pope said love, “makes us strive toward universal communion.”
He advocated for compassion and dignity for migrants around the world.
“He wanted everyone to experience the love of God, a merciful God,” García-Siller said. “[That’s] very difficult to understand in today’s world.”
The pope’s message of unity and dignified treatment of migrants was felt especially in San Antonio, he said. In San Antonio, more San Antonians who say they are Christian identify as Catholic (29%) than any other Christian religion, according to the Pew Research Center.
Several women who attended the mass also pointed to the pope’s message of unity and compassion in light of actions by the current presidential administration to arrest and deport migrants and legal residents without due process.
“The care of migrants and refugees in the Archdiocese of San Antonio has been [going on] for many decades,” García-Siller said. “And we have become in many ways in all these decades a sign of hope.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg shared condolences on social media saying the pope’s “commitment to compassion was a guiding light for us all.” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) said in a post online that Pope Francis was “a true advocate for the powerless and the marginalized.”
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) shared photos online taken the two times he met Pope Francis and recalled how remarkably humble he was. “His legacy of service and faith with continue to inspire generations,” Cuellar said.
Oblate School of Theology President Fr. Louis Studer, OMI, said he will miss Pope Francis, his favorite of all the popes.
“He was someone not hesitant to make some very difficult decisions because he was faithful to his conscience,” Studer said. “He was a man of deep faith who loved Jesus Christ and knew that love champions all. The poor came first for him, which is all about the Gospel of Jesus, what Jesus taught us, but he was inclusive of everyone.” I will miss him.”
In 2023, leaders of the community advocacy group COPS/Metro met with Pope Francis, one of several such meetings also in 2022 and 2024, at his Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
“He was funny, insightful, he was supportive, and he was so generous with his time,” said COPS/Metro leader Sonia Rodriguez, a member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. “He told us that if we had been in the Vatican, he couldn’t give us more than 15 minutes. But since we were meeting in his living room, we have all the time in the world.”
The group talked with the pope about their work and about developing leaders in parishes and churches, she said.
The pope admired that aspect, saying, “It was like a small atom that continues to grow and grow, and pretty soon it’ll become a river, and that river will change the landscape,” Rodriguez said.
“It was inspiring to have him look at what we do and reflect on it in that fashion,” she said. “It was a very moving experience, something I don’t think that I’ve ever felt before. We were clearly in the presence of greatness.”
During an event at Port San Antonio on Monday, Fr. Dennis Schafer, a Franciscan friar, also spoke of Pope Francis, saying there “was no one more worthy.”
“He washed the feet of Muslims. He washed the feet of poor people. He was always present,” Schafer said. “He worked for justice, for the good of the world, for creation. I was amazed when he took the name Francis… he really took up the charism of [Saint] Francis.”
Following the pope’s death, the Church begins a nine-day period of mourning. Funeral arrangements are pending. The process to select a new pope is generally held within 15 to 20 days, with the cardinals choosing the date and time for the conclave.
The former Bishop of Dallas, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, is serving as the acting sovereign of Vatican City.
This story has been updated to correct the location where Fr. Schafer spoke.
Reporter Xochilt Garcia contributed to this report.
