Johnstown-area Catholics remember Pope Francis for humility, love for the poor

Yahoo

24-04-2025

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Rev. Matthew Baum, Patricia Loughlin and Elizabeth Gramlich spent a few minutes Monday putting together a simple tribute to the late Pope Francis – a portrait with a black mourning cloth draped across an easel.
It will be on display near St. John Gualbert Cathedral's altar for a while.
Francis died a few hours earlier after leading the Roman Catholic Church and its approximately 1.4 billion members since 2013. Loughlin described him as 'a father to everybody.'
'He happened to be very humble, had so much love for the poor people,' Loughlin said inside the cathedral in downtown Johnstown, where she has been a parishioner since 2000. 'He gives such good advice to all the church, the Catholic Church, all over the world. He's our leader. We'll miss him, but we'll move forward to another pope.'
Gramlich said she felt Francis was 'a very sweet man' with 'a natural calm manner.'
'He was into evangelization, to get everyone out there talking to people and trying to explain your faith to people who may not know about it, so we tried,' Gramlich said. 'We did.'
Francis, who had been seriously ill and in a wheelchair for a period of time, made his final public appearance at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City the day before his death. In his own voice, he told the world, 'Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter,' in Latin.
He died from a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and cardiocirculatory collapse, according to the Vatican. Francis was 88.
'It was a blessing that we made it through Holy Week,' said Baum, St. John Gualbert Cathedral's rector. 'And, in a certain respect, the Holy Father was facing his own passion at the very same time we were celebrating the passion of our lord.'
'Deeply Argentinian'
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was ordained in 1969 as part of the Jesuit religious order. Bergoglio was named auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and archbishop of the Argentine capital in 1998.
'He was a deeply Argentinian person,' said Yamila Audisio, a Catholic immigrant from Argentina now living in Westmont. 'He was an intellectual. He was full of complexities, contradictions. He was passionate about soccer, and about friendship and family. I think all of those things made him like a representative of an Argentinian person.'
Bergoglio became known as the 'slum bishop' because of how he served the poor and marginalized.
'He held certain values throughout his entire life, values that he expressed at his time as a pope, but also when he was in the lower ranks of the church,' Audisio said. 'So, for example, he was always very close to the poor. I'm not talking about the poor in general. He was close to the poorest people. He was very close to the priests that work in these poor communities. He always had a message of inclusion.'
Audisio and Francis are both descendants of Italians who emigrated to Argentina.
'He had humble origins, too,' Audisio said. 'He was the first generation in Argentina. He knew how much immigrants had suffered. I think there is a connection between not only the religious part of the message of Jesus, but he also had a personal experience of immigration.
'If you follow his message, he always advocated for immigrants no matter where they were from.'
'Build up people'
Pope St. John Paul II elevated him to cardinal in 2001.
Bergoglio then ascended to the papacy and took the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi on March 13, 2013, following the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
St. Francis University President Rev. Malachi Van Tassell reflected upon that connection saying the school 'honors the memory of Pope Francis by reaffirming our Catholic, Franciscan mission to live out the values he championed: compassion, service, and joyful witness to the Gospel.' He said the school 'joins the global community in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. We offer our prayers for the repose of his soul and give thanks for his profound legacy of compassion, humility, and service.'
Francis was the first South American pope and the first non-European leader of the Catholic Church since Syrian-born Pope Gregory III died in 741.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona- Johnstown Bishop Mark Bartchak said that, as pope, Francis knew how to do 'little things' to 'build up people so they can find that hope.'
'Personally, I really admired the way Pope Francis conducted himself,' Bartchak said.
'What you see is what you get when you talk with him, when you meet with him – very down-to-earth, humble person, a very intelligent person.'
Bartchak continued: 'Pope Francis had the experience and the compassion and the virtue to listen to people from where they're coming from. I think that's what set him apart.'
The Rev. James Crookston, a senior priest in the diocese and Bishop McCort Catholic Academy board member, recalled Francis' work in a similarly affectionate way.
'Pope Francis was an inclusive man,' Crookston said. 'This will also be educational. We'll have an inclusive approach to our student body, which is about 30% non-Catholic, and point out what Pope Francis meant for the whole world, especially when he went to the peripheries. He wanted to include everyone. Everyone has a gift and a talent.'
Crookston added: 'This is the (Jubilee 2025) year of hope, and, as Catholics, we believe even in our suffering we have hope because Jesus is with us. This pope was a very hopeful person. He always saw his purpose was to get to Heaven. And he now, with God's graces, has achieved that.'
'Historic event'
The College of Cardinals will soon hold a secluded conclave during which they will select a new pope. Only cardinals younger than 80 years old can participate.
'That would be hard to top this pope, but I really don't know how strict they want it,' Gramlich said. 'He was very good at evangelizing and embracing people of all faiths to come into our church. I don't know what they're going to look for. That's up to the College of Cardinals.'
The first conclave occurred in January 1276. It is the longest-running process currently in use for electing a head of state, with the pope being the leader of Vatican City, a sovereign nation.
Bishop McCort Principal Tom Smith said the upcoming conclave will be 'a very historic event.'
'It absolutely is a learning experience. … For us here in the school as Catholics, it's a great learning opportunity for our students to understand the process and the history of that process,' Smith said.
Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown plans to hold a memorial Mass Monday, beginning at noon, inside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona.
'The Catholic Church is a universal family, and the Pope was the head of that family,' Tony DeGol, diocesan director of communications, said in a written statement. 'His passing has affected us all, and we mourn the loss as a family. Bishop Bartchak looks forward to uniting with part of that family at this upcoming Mass to recall Pope Francis' humble service and lasting mark on the Church.'