Diocese of Sioux City honors Pope Francis
For 12 years, Pope Francis sat in the Vatican. With his death, officials with the Diocese of Sioux City are honoring his life.
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Around midnight in the U.S, it was announced that Pope Francis had passed only a day after his Easter mass.
'It was sad on one side because we love Pope Francis, but also relieved because he has been suffering,' said David Esquiliano, judicial vicar with the Diocese of Sioux City. 'We saw his address to people after the Easter mass and it was obvious that he was in pain, that he was suffering.'
Esquiliano says he was in Rome the day Pope Francis was elected, a day he'll never forget.
'I was a student at the time, and I lived just a couple of blocks from the Vatican,' he said. 'So when the smoke came out and I saw it through my window, I ran to the Vatican because I knew he was going to be announced at that point.'
Esquiliano even got to assist in a couple of the Pope's services.
'I had the blessing of serving as a deacon for two of his masses,' he said. 'His very first public mass and then a mass a week later.'
Following his death, Catholics will mourn Pope Francis for nine days. In Sioux City, the Cathedral of the Epiphany has set up a picture of the late pontiff alongside other traditional displays.
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'As you walk through the center doors of the church, there's papal bunting as well, so to remind us that we are mourning, even in the celebration of Easter, we are mourning,' Esquiliano said. 'Earlier today, we rang the funeral toll of bells to get people's attention that our Lord had called Pope Francis back to his eternal reward.'
While the Pope has passed, Esquiliano says he's left a great legacy.
'He has written about love and he has shown us how to do it, so I hope we'll keep learning from what he has taught us,' he said.
Esquiliano says he looks forward to seeing who will be named the next Pope. That process is set to begin in about 15 days.
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