Southwest Detroit mourns Pope Francis, who was 'very accepting, very loving of all'
Santiago-Romero grew up Catholic and recalls visiting Pope Francis years ago in what she described as "a beautiful moment" with her mother. Pope Francis died on Monday. He was 88.
"For me and my mom, both being immigrants — not really believing that we'd be able to travel the world — being able to be in Rome and visiting the pope was really meaningful for us," Santiago-Romero said.
The council member said she has heard from several members of her community, who said they are saddened by the pontiff's passing.
"This pope was more on the left side. Very accepting, very loving of all of us. And I think that gave us a lot of hope, especially when the church can be not as welcoming or inviting, depending on the church, the pastor, the priest that you're in front of," Santiago-Romero said. "We were all very, very grateful to have him as our pope, and just really interested to see who they choose next in leadership, hoping that they are someone that is as sympathetic and vocal around the end of war and the end of genocide.
"I'm just really sad that we lost someone that was so, so wonderful and vocal for the things that really matter to us."
More: Michigan Catholics mourn death of Pope Francis, recall his 'kindness'
Of those issues which matter to her and those she represents, Santiago-Romero said the impact he had on the LGBTQ+ community was and remains important.
"Very, very grateful that that he did not deem us as sinners or folks that should be ousted, but more so should be loved and cared for. Could have done a lot more to have us be more visual and participate in the church. I think I will always push for that as well. But just felt as if we did have a pope that recognized and prayed and loved us, despite what the church might say," Santiago-Romero said.
Mary Carmen Muñoz, executive director of the social and economic development nonprofit La Sed, said the community has a deep connection to Pope Francis, especially his Latino background.
"He was born and raised in Argentina by immigrant parents who immigrated to Argentina from Italy. So he had a special place in his heart, for not only Latinos, for the entire world and people that suffered any type of injustice, but especially immigrants, they had a special place in his heart," Muñoz said. "He had a very special devotion to Mother Mary. Our community shares in so many traditional Catholic beliefs and are practicing Catholics. This was just stunning because yesterday during Easter service, it was so great to see him participating. We could tell he was weak but it brought out a sense of hopefulness to see him participate in the Mass yesterday."
More: Who might succeed Pope Francis? Nine possible candidates
Shock, sadness and joy, knowing "he is now joining Christ in heaven" are some of the emotions hitting the community, Muñoz added.
"It's a heavy time for us because we lost, I believe a good friend. He was a humble man and always kept those that struggled the most in his heart," Muñoz said. "Church is the center of so many Latinos and our faith is what drives us every day. Through these challenging times, I think faith is what propels us to keep going to fight for the American dream and always seek justice for those that are always underserved."
'A symbol of faith and social change': Leaders in Michigan reflect on Pope Francis' death
Southwest Detroit resident Rebecca Guizar, 68, walked up to Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit on Monday morning with her grandkids, hoping to baptize them and teach them more about the religion, but the church was closed for Easter Monday. Her main hope is to see less hate in the world as communities mourn and select the next pope.
"It's hard waking up when you just watched him on TV yesterday. Watching him go through the crowd and everybody's so happy and waving, and then watching some of the mass and where he was able to be on the balcony, and be able to be there for Easter Sunday," Guizar tearfully said. "And we knew his end days were gonna come. ... I Googled it right away to make sure, you know, you gotta fact-check everything, so I said a little prayer. May God rest his soul. And now I'm going to teach the younger generation a little bit about him, because they're asking. I feel privileged to be able to share that with them."
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Southwest Detroiters mourn over death of Pope Francis
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