Catholics across Toronto bid farewell to Pope Francis

Pope Francis smiles after celebrating Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)

Catholics across Toronto are bidding farewell to Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis, who stood for the poor and became a beacon for the reshaping the Catholic Church with his non-traditional papacy, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 after battling serious illness.

• IN PHOTOS: The Life and Legacy of Pope Francis

The pontiff made history by delivering a long-awaited apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the abuse suffered by Indigenous people at the Canadian residential schools.

“At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel.

“The Holy Father’s humility, compassion and care for others, most especially the poor and marginalized, has served as a powerful witness and a reminder of our daily call to reflect the face of Jesus to all those whom we encounter,” a statement from the Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Cardinal Leo, reads.

The flag at downtown Toronto’s St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica was lowered to half mast on Monday morning by Father Frank Portelli, who presided over the morning service, CP24’s Beatrice Vaisman reported.

“We know that for all of us who are faithful to the Lord, are faithful in the faith, we know that he’s gone to be with God. So, it’s bittersweet but Pope Francis has left us a good legacy of listening, church passion, a year of mercy, and now a jubilee year,” Portelli told CP24. “So, we’re honoring him and moving forward.”

One of the things that shocked the world was when the pontiff first visited a prison and washed the feet of the prisoners, Portelli recalls.

“I think that he leaves us a kind of legacy of somebody who went forward and presented a positive sign to the church,” he says.

‘It is fitting’

Neil MacCarthy, Director, Public Relations, and Communications of the Archdiocese of Toronto, told CP24 it was surreal to wake up to the news of the pontiff’s passing this morning, especially after witnessing him meeting the crowd on the popemobile on Easter Sunday.

“As people of faith, we’ve just gone through Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus, and so, it is fitting, in a way, that the Pope has passed on Easter Monday, after having that very high moment for the life of the church,” MacCarthy says.

MacCarthy goes on to emphasize what a gift it was to be able to see the pontiff having a publicly visible day after battling illness since February.

The pope had part of his right lung removed after a pulmonary infection when he was young and had recently been suffering from respiratory infections. The Vatican announced he had developed pneumonia in both lungs along with asthmatic bronchitis shortly after his admittance to the Gemelli hospital in Rome.

MacCarthy called this his “last goodbye,” and said it was “prophetic in many ways.”

“A pope who was really focused on humility and compassion, it is very fitting that he kind of went quietly,” he says. “He was just with prisoners outside of the Vatican at a jail a couple days ago, humbly as he began his ministry, ending his ministry.”

MacCarthy calls the pontiff’s legacy critical in moving forward in the journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous people.

He talked about the church being a “field hospital” for people on the margins, the prisoners, the immigrants and refugees and those who have been forgotten, MacCarthy says.

Flags at all schools within the Toronto Catholic District School Board were lowered to half mast today.

Parishioners bid farewell

Simon Athaide, one of the parishioners at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, said although he was braced for this event due to the pontiff’s recent struggles with his illness, it was incredibly sad to hear the news.

“He’s gone home now,” Athaide told CP24. “He did a good job with the church and led us through some pretty rough times and laid out a map of what we should be doing.”

Athaide adds that Francis’ legacy established a Catholic Church that “listens.”

“It’s a church that’s alive not one that’s stayed and set in its old ways. It’s alive and alert to what’s going on around it,” he says.

“Pope Francis in his last year was begging the world to stop all the wars,” another parishioner told CP24. “The world needs to look at Pope Francis’ message. These migrants, the poor that’s the face of our Lord and that’s Pope Francis’ message.”

Marc, a new member of the Catholic community who spoke to CP24, says Pope Francis helped modernize the church and soften the angry stance that a lot of people associated Catholicism with. The pope allowed people to find space within the church and their lives, he adds.