‘Let's build bridges.' Many Miami Catholics hope conclave continues legacy of Francis

Miami Herald

07-05-2025

South Florida 'Let's build bridges.' Many Miami Catholics hope conclave continues legacy of Francis
Italy, Rome, Vatican,May 07, 2025. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re leads a special mass 'Pro eligendo papa,' or for the election of the pope, before the conclave begins, at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Photograph by Vatican Media / Catholic Press Photo RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS (Photo by ©Vatican Media/CPP / ipa-agency.net/IPA/Sipa USA)
©Vatican Media/CPPIPA/Sipa USA
Known for his humility as well as his commitment to a more transparent and accepting church, Pope Francis was a beloved figure and model leader for many Catholics in South Florida,.
With the election of a new pope beginning Wednesday, many of the faithful are hoping to see the church continue to follow his legacy.
Ahead of the start of the conclave being held in Vatican City in Rome, a handful of Catholic leaders from different walks of life talked about the issues that are key and the qualities they hope to see embodied in the next Holy Father.
'We need to welcome and accompany,' said Sue DeFerrari, executive director of MorningStar Renewal Center, a Catholic spiritual center in Miami. 'That's my hope, for the future, that we would not be a church of closed doors. Let's build bridges instead of closing doors.'
In Miami, a place that has more Catholics on average than the rest of the country, all eyes are now on the Vatican, where top Catholic leaders will gather at the Sistine Chapel to elect Francis' successor. The 267th pontiff will go on to lead 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. On Thursday, South Florida Catholics are invited to gather at St. Martha's Parish, where Archbishop Thomas Wenski will lead a mass to pray for the election of the Roman Pontiff — a task that could take just a few days or potentially much longer.
For those in Miami, a place where more than half of the population is foreign-born, how the Catholic Church views and handles immigration issues is important, said many people who spoke with the Herald.
'Pope Francis used to remind the world that every encounter with a migrant is an encounter with the suffering Christ Himself,' said Sudzer Charélus, a Jesuit priest and Catholic educator.
Many of them also spoke about wanting a leader who will advocate on global and social issues like war and racism, and someone who reaches out to the poor and marginalized.
Some who spoke with the Herald also expressed their wish for the new pope to continue the progress the church has made in attracting younger members and in elevating women into more leadership roles — still a divisive issue for some more conservative members who defend staying to the church's traditional practices.
'He opened up new spaces for women, and all of these things that I think were highlights of his papacy are things that I hope move forward,' said DeFerrari.
'Church must welcome people first'
Haitin-born Charélus said, in his view, it's important for the Catholic Church to continue to be a place that welcomes everyone.
'The church must welcome the people first. That's why the door of the of the church must be always open for every single human being, whoever it is,' said Charélus, who works with the youth and migrant populations at Gesù Catholic Church in Miami.
Father Sudzer Charélus, SJ, a priest at Gesù Catholic Church in Miami, gives a lecture on Pedro Arrupe at the 'Instituto Pedro Arrupe' on February 8th, 2025. Wenceslao Cruz
As someone who was born and studied to be a Jesuit priest in Haiti, Charélus said it's also important to have a leader of the church who understands the immigrant struggle.
'Pope Francis, being from Latin America, had that experience of migration. His parents were from Italy ... he always invited the world to be more welcoming of the suffering of so many human beings who are fleeing their home countries in search of a better life,' he said.
Early on in his pontificate, Francis named the first and only Haitian Cardinal in history, Chibly Langlois, and he frequently appealed for help for the struggling island nation. Francis often named cardinals in smaller countries, an act that Wenski, in comments after Francis' passing, perceived as a way to say 'it's not your wealth or your status that you know defines your importance in the eyes of God, it's the fact that you are a child of God.'
Charélus who studied philosophy and lived for four years in the Dominican Republic, said it's also the role of the pope to be 'in constant dialogue' with the rest of the world, and have a keen understanding of the world's problems.
'The church doesn't exist outside of the world. The church is inserted in the world,' he said, adding that it's important for the pope to speak out against war and ask for peace when necessary.
'I think the pope should be a someone who knows exactly what is happening ... well-informed in order to give answers, meaningful answers, in the light of the Gospel.'
Listening to new voices
Elaine Ureña, a leader of Voceros de Cristo ('Voices of Christ') a Catholic Young Adult Group from St Agatha Parish, said she hopes the next pope will be open to listening to new voices within the church — just as Francis did during his papacy.
At a recent service at the Ignatian Spirituality Center (Casa Manresa) in West Miami-Dade, Ureña heard from others in her congregation speak about their thoughts on Francis' impact on the church. One woman, who shared that she was on her second marriage, said she felt 'welcome again, even though she was divorced,' Ureña said.
'Being able to have a church that is open to listen, and especially to listen to those who are marginalized, especially those who, for many years, felt so far away from the church, people who felt that they were kind of rejected..'
As a young Catholic, Ureña who is 32, admired Francis' ability to rally young people and make them feel heard.
Ureña volunteers at Radio Paz on a show called 'En el Cielo se Oye,' where she often speaks with Catholic youth about different issues. She said one issue young people are paying attention to is how the role of women's leadership in the Catholic Church has expanded.
Elaine Urena, a member of the group Voceros de Cristo from St. Agatha Parish, believes Francis' legacy should continue in the Catholic Church. Urena volunteers with Radio Paz and interviews young Catholics on issues and challenges within the church.
Elaine Urena
Francis was the first pope to appoint women to high positions in the Vatican and the first to allow women to vote in the synod meeting of bishops.
Ureña said most people in her own circle want to see expanded roles for women's leadership in the church, just not necessarily to the extent of women in priesthood.
'In many communities, we see that the majority is always women that are teaching the kids in catechism and everything ... there is already a role, so just recognizing what is already happening, it's something that we value a lot.'
Another thing Ureña admired about Francis that she would like to see continue: his ability to relate to people. She said it was a big deal in the Latin American community, for example, when Francis took time to watch the last FIFA World Cup in 2022, when the Argentina national football team won.
'That was very nice, because people saw that he was very human, very like normal.'
Elaine Urena met Pope Francis when she received the Sposi Noveli blessing during her and her husband's honeymoon. Urena, a member of Voceros de Cristo, a young adult Catholic group from St. Agatha Parish, believes Francis' legacy should continue in the Catholic Church.
Elaine Urena
A pope who 'speaks our language'
Xiomara Hernandez, executive director of the Dominican Sisters Conference, a gathering of Catholic sisters in the United States who are part of the Order of Preachers, echoes the need for a leader who values the role of women in the church.
She said that in the past, Catholic sisters, or nuns, traditionally wore habits, or religious clothing. But, that tradition is now changing, along with the role of women.
'It seems to me that sisters were supposed to be seen more than heard,' she said. But, Hernandez said a more modern way now is to work with the people they are serving and focus on building a diverse Catholic community.
The members of the Dominican conference, which includes congregations across the United States, often advocate for social change in the areas of climate change, immigration and racism. She said its important for the church to continue to look toward the future and listen to the young voices in the church.
Hernandez recalls a video call with Pope Francis in Chicago, where he listened to the concerns of young Catholic students — who brought up their concerns for protecting the environment. She remembers how enthralled Francis was with young people, encouraging them to take action.
'Their passion is so bright. You could see that Pope Francis was proud and so honored to hear the wisdom, the young wisdom, and the knowledge of these people and how they wanted to envision a better word for all of us.'
Xiomara Hernandez is the executive director of the Dominican Sisters Conference, a gathering of Catholic sisters in the United States who are part of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order.
Xiomara Hernandez
As someone from the Dominican Republic, Hernandez said it meant a lot to her community to hear the pope communicate in Spanish.
'When we saw a Latino pope that spoke our language .. it was so cool to hear a pope that spoke your own language,' she said. She added that Francis' warmth and personable nature are qualities that are felt and appreciated by the Latin American community.
'He made the church at home more than a business,' she said. 'More of a maternal kind of way of leading the church.'
She also believes it's important for the new pope, like Francis, to be able to stand up for what's right.
'He was courageous enough, like a good Latino father to say, 'no, that is wrong. He was not afraid to speak about what is wrong, what is right,' said Hernandez.
Another theme she wishes to see continue with the next pope: 'the compassion, 'la misericordia,' the mercy,' she said. Hernandez said she wants a leader who cares about 'listening deeply to one another, and everybody's welcome to the table when decisions are made.'
The concept of a more inclusive church is one that's been debated by cardinals as they prepare to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. The debate includes discussions on synodality, the effort championed by Francis to reform the church's structures to be more participatory and less centered in the clergy. Francis' Synod on Synodality, a three-year process of listening and dialogue traditionally only attended by bishops, included laypeople and women in the voting process — a first in the Catholic Church's history.
Many cardinals, according to the National Catholic Reporter, have expressed strong support for the idea of a more inclusive, transparent church, but others have pointed out the irony with the current, closed-doors papal process.
'I think that Pope Francis had a balance, because if he went too far, then it would create this division,' ,' Hernandez said.
Sue DeFerrari is the executive director and ministry head at MorningStar Renewal Center in Miami.
Sue DeFerrari
DeFerrari, director of MorningStar Renewal Center, a spiritual retreat center owned by the Archdiocese of Miami, has worked for over 20 years in ministry and faith education in the Catholic Church. She hopes that the future pope will continue Francis' legacy of outreach in marginalized communities.
'My hope is that the church moves forward in hope and will continue to be a place that reaches out to all ... 'Todos, Todos, Todos'.. reaches out to all, with love not fear.'
She notes that Francis often said the role of the church was to be a 'field hospital' for those in need rather than an ivory tower of judgment.
'Everything he got criticized for was all about his ability to welcome everyone,' DeFerrari said.
Her hope is that the church will continue to serve people in the margins, 'whether that be people in the LGBTQ community, whether that be the poor, the immigrant .. people who are just overlooked,' she said.
She acknowledged that religion can be a polarizing thing for people. Some more conservative religious groups will reject certain people from the church, and want people to conform based on their beliefs.
'I don't agree with any of that,' she said.
Instead, she said the new leader of the Catholic church should serve from a place of hope rather than a place of fear.
'Rather than feel threatened by the world and have to kind of insulate and defend … would rather see ourselves in the identity that I think Pope Francis was leading us in … we can be people who can be the presence of hope and love and joy and transformation, because we know that God is with us.'
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
Lauren Costantino
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Lauren Costantino is a religion reporter for the Miami Herald funded with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all work. Since joining the Herald in 2021, Lauren has worked as an audience engagement producer, reaching new audiences through social media, podcasts and community-focused projects. She lives in Miami Beach with her cocker spaniel, Oliver.