‘He had a lot of energy right up to the end, and he fought’

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | With a dozen white roses in hand, Tatiana Palma of St. Stephen Parish in Miramar was among the very first to enter St. Mary Cathedral April 26, 2025, for a Mass for the repose of Pope Francis.

“Pope Francis was a pope of the people, the immigrants - and so many times he reached out to the ill, the lonely, the suffering, the ones in prison. He showed us that ‘yes,’ we can (do the same) and that ‘yes,’ we can do more than what we think we can,” said Palma, who was among the hundreds who joined Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski for the celebration, held on the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday and the same day as the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. The Pope died April 21 at the age of 88 on Easter Monday after suffering a stroke following a prolonged bout of double pneumonia.

Palma, who laid her flowers at the feet of a framed picture of Pope Francis gracing the altar of the Cathedral, was among many who traveled from around the region to attend the vigil Mass.

Also present was Argentine native Rosa Descalzi of St. Boniface Church in Pembroke Pines, who said it was her first-ever visit to the cathedral, noted that losing Pope Francis felt like losing a member of her family.

“I love him; he was so special to me,” Descalzi said. “His humility was out of this world; he was so real; the love he had for the common people, especially those who suffered or who are in terrible situations such as wars.”

The Pope, she said, was “very Argentine” in the way he encouraged people to get outside and meet others where they are: “That is very Argentine, and also he was smiling all the time and a very happy person, while also he was very concerned about the suffering caused by the wars between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Gaza,” she added.

Archbishop Wenski in his homily, noted that early in his pontificate, Pope Francis decreed a special Holy Year, a Holy Year of Mercy.

“And so, in a way, it is most fitting that the Pope of Mercy return to the Father’s House during the Octave of Easter and have his funeral rites celebrated on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday,” the archbishop said.

“God’s mercy, Pope Francis would say, is more than an abstract idea. God’s mercy has a name; God’s mercy has a face: the name and face is that of Jesus Christ who loved us ‘to the end.’”

Pope Francis saw the Church as a “field hospital” called to tend to the wounded on the battlefields of life, offering her medicine of mercy to all, the archbishop added.

“The Church, Pope Francis insisted, is not only to teach but to act - to embrace those on the periphery and to bring the light of Christ to the darkest corners of society.”

Theresa Bary, a member of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Miami, said she will remember Pope Francis early in his pontificate when he was more vigorous, but also how until the very end, on Easter Day, he insisted on working and being among God’s people.

“It was sad to see him leave us; he went to the Lord and is an angel now and at peace,” said Bary, a native of Dominica.

Despite his failing health, Pope Francis pushed aside doctors’ orders for strict convalescence and appeared in St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile to greet cheering crowds on Easter Sunday.

“He had a lot of energy right up to the end, and he fought, he did not give up and he set a good example for us - we have to fight; we cannot give up and I am not going to give up,” Bary said.

Father Milton Martinez, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Miami, recalled his excitement as a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary upon learning that Pope Francis planned to visit the U.S. in 2015 for the canonization of the first saint to be canonized on U.S. soil, St. Junípero Serra. The Mass was celebrated on that historic Sept. 23, 2015, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the priest recalled.

Adding to the excitement, “Pope Francis also expressed his desire to meet and address all the seminarians of the United States,” Father Martinez said, adding that he was present for the historic encounter.

Among the many memories from that experience, “one that stands out vividly is the moment the Holy Father entered the basilica,” he said. “The entire space seemed to be illuminated by his presence. Yet I quickly realized that it was not simply the man who captivated us, but the office he held, the icar of Christ on earth, that shone so brightly.”

In addition, hearing Pope Francis speak in Spanish was both moving and affirming to Father Martinez. “It felt like a personal gift, a reminder of the universality of the Church and the intimate ways God reaches each of us,” he said.

“Pope Francis was one of us, and his witness of humility and compassion inspired me to say ‘yes,’ again and again.”

Joining the April 26 celebration at the Cathedral was Peter David Eaton, bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, who pointed out that he was wearing a pectoral cross modeled after one that Pope Francis wore.

“There is no doubt that Pope Francis has left a tremendous legacy not only for Roman Catholics, but he is the most visible bishop and Christian in the world and he has had an influence on all of us,” Bishop Eaton said.

“His constant emphasis on love and mercy and his attention to the poor and the dispossessed, I think is one of the things that we valued so much about his witness to the Gospel."

In addition, Pope Francis had particularly good relations with Episcopalians and Anglicans, he added. Pope Francis “had a very close relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom he did a lot of peacebuilding and reconciliation work and together they made a historic trip to South Sudan.”

In his final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, outside of the Vatican Walls, where he frequently went to pray to seek Mary’s help or to thank her for her assistance.