Mass for Pope Francis planned at Detroit's Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Monday morning was quiet inside Detroit's Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the mother church for the Archdiocese of Detroit. As light from the stained-glass windows streamed in, a single candle burned at the altar, further illuminating a framed photo of Pope Francis.
The doors to the massive cathedral on Woodward Avenue were open to the Catholic faithful on April 21, as they mourned the pope, who was 88 when he died earlier that day at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.
"His health has been declining over the course of the past few months and so while it was surprising, I guess it was not shocking" that the pope died on Easter Monday, said the Rev. Mario Amore, director of evangelization and missionary discipleship for the Archdiocese of Detroit. "I think more of the shock came in the fact that we saw him yesterday. He gave that blessing to the people of God."
After being hospitalized for weeks earlier in the year with double pneumonia, Pope Francis appeared to have rallied. He spent Easter Sunday at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, and met with Vice President JD Vance.
"As I've been reflecting upon it, it is a reminder to us of what we hear in the scriptures: We don't know the day nor the hour when the Lord will call us home," Amore said. "So it's just an opportunity for us to reflect upon that state of readiness that all of us need to be in.
"There is always a sense of sadness at this moment. I saw people coming into the cathedral this morning with tears in their eyes. Just like when anyone who dies that we love, because we're human, those emotions of sadness are always a part of it. But as people of faith, our hope is in the Lord. There is no better time to die than on this Easter Monday, when we're reminded that the Lord conquers sin and death."
Amore, who also serves as a priest for St. Aloysius, Old St. Mary's, and the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, said Pope Francis had a unique way of communicating with the faithful.
"As people are speaking of Pope Francis, they compare him, especially, to Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI, his immediate predecessors. There's a tendency to put them in camps and suggest that they taught different things. That's not the case. Pope Francis would be the first to say that he had a special way of communicating the teachings of the church, a special way of being and showing the heart and the mercy of Christ.
"He highlighted that in his own way — not to be any different from his predecessors — but just as all of us have a certain way that we're called to live out our life of discipleship and our own witness to Jesus."
A Mass was set for 7 p.m. April 21 at the cathedral, 9844 Woodward Ave., which will be led by Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger.
More: What did Pope Francis mean to you? Send a letter to the editor | Letters
More: Michigan Catholics mourn death of Pope Francis, recall his 'kindness'
Over the next few weeks, Catholic cardinals from around the world will be called to the Vatican in Rome to participate in the conclave to choose a new pope.
In 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II, Detroit's retired Cardinal Adam Maida took part in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. Later the same year, Maida submitted his request to resign. However, Vatican officials asked Maida to remain in Detroit and didn't accept his resignation from active ministry until January 2009.
Amore said Maida recently celebrated his 95th birthday and will not be part of the conclave. Only cardinals who are 80 or younger are eligible to vote in the election of a new pope.
Once details from the Vatican are released about its official plans for a period of mourning for Pope Francis, Amore said it's likely that the cathedral will begin a nine-day period of prayer, called a novena.
"We should be praying for him during this time, for the Lord's mercy upon him — just like all of us need at the hour and the time of our death," Amore said. "I'd like to encourage people to be praying for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis."
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament plans Mass for Pope Francis
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