21-04-2025
Charlotte churches to hold evening masses mourning Pope Francis
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin called for all churches to open from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday so Catholics can come together to mourn the passing of Pope Francis in their own way.
Francis died Monday after his first big appearance Easter Sunday. He had been battling pneumonia. Francis served as a religious leader of a billion people across the world, including more than 550,000 in the Charlotte Diocese.
Martin said Francis appointed him as a bishop. Now, losing him makes it even tougher.
'Today, in particular, is a day of sadness, for me personally, but also for Catholics around our diocese as well as around the world,' Martin said. 'I'm incredibly honored personally, to me he means a great deal.'
But Francis' impact went much farther and across religious boundaries. North Carolina Synod Bishop Timothy Smith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America shared on social media that despite differences in faith, reconciliation of all relationships was an end goal for Francis.
'Maybe in a world where everything seems to be coming apart on so many levels, there could be a different way when we would come together and accentuate not our differences as much as what we have in common,' Smith said.
Francis was a Jesuit and the first ever to be a pope. A Jesuit is a Society of Jesus that is younger than other religious orders with a reputation for education and academics.
St. Peter Catholic Church is the oldest in Charlotte and the only Jesuit one. It sits in the heart of Uptown.
Father Tim Stephens at St. Peter Catholic Church still can't believe Francis was one of them.
'My first reaction was it was unimaginable,' Stephens said. 'We just never, we oftentimes assumed it would never, ever happen because it's extremely rare for a Jesuit to be a cardinal, to be a bishop.'
Stephens said Francis' legacy is that he saw himself as a pastor and shepherd first and portrayed that in every relationship, despite criticism he might face.
'He wanted them to know as God's representative on earth, wanted them to know that God loves them unconditionally,' Stephens said.
Wednesday at 7 p.m., St. Marks in Huntersville will have a large mass for anyone in the diocese to come together and honor his life.
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