21-04-2025
New Jersey's Hispanic community mourns loss of Pope Francis
NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — The Hispanic community is mourning the loss of the first pope from Latin America.
'They can see themselves in him,' said Bishop Kevin Sweeney of the Paterson Diocese. 'He was a little boy who grew up in Argentina, of immigrant parents himself. His parents were immigrants from Italy. He understands us, the immigrant church, and the Latino church. He represents us so beautifully.'
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'Everybody is sad,' said Able Santos of Wayne. 'A lot of people are sad.'
'I just remember him being the first Jesuit pope from Argentina,' said George Rodriguez, who attended a midday mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. 'I'll just remember him as a humble man.'
Monsignor Geno Sylva, also of the Paterson Diocese, had the rare opportunity to work with Pope Francis on the Jubilee of Mercy, and said he watched as the Pope made time for a young girl in despair, pushing back his schedule with dignitaries and world leaders to tend to someone more vulnerable.
'She said, my brother's dying of cancer, I have to speak to the Holy Father,' recalls Msgr. Sylva, who said he then asked Pope Francis if he had time to meet with the girl. 'The Holy Father sits with this 12-year-old girl as if she's the Queen of England, for twenty minutes. And at the end, her tears of sadness were tears of joy.'
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