The death of Pope Francis resolved on Monday around California, with his message of tolerance and plea for immigrants and less fortunate resonance even more strongly in death.
Francis, the first pontiff in Latin America, was a particularly loved figure in the Los Angeles region, where its declarations in support of the environment, tolerance to LGBTQ Catholics and the progress of women in the Church have brought cheers.
Cynthia Cook and her mother, Julieta Camacha, offered their silent prayers to the Catholic church Queen of Angels on Monday morning while the bells of the cathedral resounded above.
“I was just in shock, because I thought he recovered,” said Cook, who looked at information about the Pope’s public appearance on Easter Sunday a few hours before his death.
The two women visited in Los Angeles and on the way back to Santa Maria when they decided to pay tribute to the chapel of downtown Los Angeles.
Cook said that unity is important during this difficult period, and Francis embodied a love for everyone.
“As head of the Catholic Church, he extinguished him that immigrants are children of God,” said Cook.
Isabel Torres cleaned the chapel of the Queen of Angels after the end of a crowded morning mass.
“I was very sad,” Torres in Spanish said. “But at the same time, I thanked God for the time he gave us with him.”
Torres saw Francis as the reflection of God and an example of the way in which the Catholic community should live his life, mainly by humility.
“We have always tried to live according to the lessons he gave us,” said Torres. “Even as sinners, with our biggest mistakes, we have always tried to be humiliated.” The Natal Mexican stressed Francis’s importance for the conversation surrounding immigration, and she said that she hoped that the president learned from the Pope’s inheritance.
“With the help of all-powerful God, I hope that the Pope’s death touches the hearts of these presidents,” said Torres. “And that they see us all the same and that they understand that we have the right to this world, regardless of race or color.”
After keeping mass at the Queen of Angels chapel on Monday morning, Reverend Benediktus Obon said that he hoped that the new pontiff continued the heritage left by Francis.
“He was a man of peace,” said Obon. “He loved humanity. He kissed everyone and did not care who you were. We are all creatures of God. “
Obon credited Francis for helping to change the negative account surrounding the Catholic church before taking over as a pope. “His presence in the church has brought many good things,” said Obon. “He also brought a lot of people to the church. For the community, it is a big loss. “
It is important to Obon that the next Pope criticizes the current treatment of immigrants by the American administration that Francis expressed until the last day of his life, when he met Vice-President JD Vance.
“Seeing human beings first, seeing them as part of yourself in other people,” he said.
California Daily Newspapers
