‘A Prophetic Advocate’: San Diego Mourns Death of Pope Francis at Age 88

Nuns pray in front of a memorial to Pope Francis at Mission San Diego de Alcal Photo courtesy Mission San Diego de Alcal via Facebook Catholics throughout the San Diego area joined the global faithful Monday to mourn the passing of Pope Francis who died at a m Rome time at the Vatican one day after Easter at age and returned to the home of the Father according to Cardinal Kevin Farrell a Vatican spokesman The administrator of the Diocese of San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Michael Pham issued a declaration Monday saying The Holy Father cared deeply for all of us but especially for people living at the margins of our society He was never afraid to speak out and remind us that we all share the gifts of God s love and mercy to show his determination that we care for one another that we put our faith in action that we show respect in how we treat our fellow women and men and how we treat the conditions around us Pham reported The Pope had a special affection for our demarcation society and constantly expressed concern for the immigrants who journeyed through it Deacon Jim Vargas president and CEO at Catholic nonprofit Father Joe s Villages reported Francis will forever be remembered for his humility and for his deep compassion especially for our most of vulnerable neighbors across the world We celebrate his lifetime of organization to the Lord and to all of humanity Vargas mentioned Let us all live by his example in serving our neighbors without judgment and inevitably with the deepest love May Pope Francis bask in the loving embrace of our Lord Former San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy now archbishop of the Washington diocese praised Francis for embracing love which led the pope to be a prophetic advocate for the poor and the dispossessed the unborn and the immigrant the casualties of war and the earth which is our common home Politicians saluted Francis as well San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria shared on X San Diego joins the world in mourning the passing of Pope Francis a humble leader a voice for progress and a champion for the vulnerable around the world His legacy of compassion and hope will live on Rest in peace Holy Father Rep Mike Levin whose district covers parts of San Diego and Orange counties honored Francis on X saying as pope he made tremendous humanitarian strides including waging groundbreaking efforts to address setting change May his legacy serve as a reminder of what compassionate and courageous leadership looks like Francis was diagnosed with chronic lung malady and had part of a lung removed when he was younger He was admitted to a hospital on Feb for a respiratory episode that developed into double pneumonia He spent days in the hospital and made his final society appearance on Easter Sunday blessing the faithful in St Peter s Square while sitting in a wheelchair He served as pope for years and set a different tone for the papacy focusing on humility for a Catholic Church facing scandals and accusations of indifference The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became pope on March and succeeded Pope Benedict XVI whose surprise resignation led to Francis polling Francis reached out to the LGBTQ public and cracked down on traditionalists which created tension with conservatives in the Catholic Church He was pope during the coronavirus pandemic and requested his followers to use it as an opportunity to review the economic and political framework that he mentioned was turning the wealthy against the impoverished We have realized that we are on the same boat all of us fragile and disoriented Francis narrated an empty St Peter s Square in March Part of his message included stressing the need for all of us to row together each of us in need of comforting the other City News Utility contributed to this article