Local Charlotte Catholics remember Pope Francis

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The local catholic community is mourning the People’s Pope. Parishioners gathered for a holy hour of prayer at all Catholic churches throughout the region in honor of Pope Francis. The 88 year old died on Easter Monday after complications from a stroke.

At Saint Patrick Cathedral in Dilworth, Bishop Michael Martin shared a message to remember the Pope’s humility and warmth. Bishop Martin remembers meeting Pope Francis in 2024.

“You could see he was pained by the hurt that some of the bishops were describing that was going on in their part of the world. And yet, in other moments, he was light and making jokes and he just put us all at ease,” Bishop Martin said. “He will be remembered as someone who tried his best to focus our attention on people who maybe don’t often enough have the attention that they should, especially people on the margins.”

Pope Francis championed causes like social justice and climate change. He was also known for being more welcoming to the LGBTQ community.

“As a queer person who practices Catholicism just, like his openness and love for my community. It’s very sad because he was a very, very kind man, and God rest his soul,” Michael Kraftcheck from Charlotte said.

Vice President JD Vance was one of the last world leaders to meet with Pope Francis. Under Francis’ leadership, the church has advocated for migrants.

“The brief meeting with, with Vice President Vance might have been more of a rebuke of the vice president’s current moral standing, which is maybe not what he expected,” Eric Hoenes del Pinal, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte said. “Francis was somebody that was very concerned with with the cultivation of a kind of piety that’s based on moral humility, the sense of of understanding that we as human beings can do much good and we can do much evil, and that our impetus should always be to try to do good.”

Some say the Pope’s legacy will remind Catholics of their moral responsibility.

“He most recently has used the spotlight of being the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to be able to call all of us to to greater accountability, especially as it relates to how we care for those most in need,” Bishop Martin said.

Pope Francis was the first Pope selected from a country outside of Europe. To many, he was known for making the church more welcoming.

“He gave a lot of hope to people who felt like maybe they that the church had forgotten about them,” Kelly Flowers from Charlotte said. “He also was very humble and he helped us understand how important it is to be like the poor and to let God’s love run our lives instead of all of our things.”

Cardinals will meet soon to discuss the details of Pope Francis’ funeral arrangements. After the funeral, there will be a period of mourning before Cardinals come back together for the Conclave to select the next Pope.