Though Pope Francis never set foot in Chicago, mourners said he embodied the city’s spirit.
He loved the underdog and stood up for the poor, the disadvantaged and the destitute. He championed diversity and extended a hand to immigrants.
Those are among the qualities Chicago’s everyday Catholics, religious leaders of many faiths and elected officials celebrated after news broke that Francis died Monday. He was 88.
The pontiff died of a stroke that put him into a coma and caused his heart to fail, according to the Vatican. The day before, Francis, who was ill for months, appeared briefly before the faithful in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate Easter.
Deemed “the people’s pope,” he was remembered for denouncing violence and calling for the end to all wars, pushing the world to fight climate change and cracking the door for alienated LGBTQ+ Catholics, women left out of church leadership and divorced people. He was the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church.
“A lot of people in Chicago have a deep connection to him because of his outreach to the marginalized [and] to the poor,” said the Rev. Andy Matijevic, who delivered the 8 a.m. Mass at Holy Name Cathedral on Monday.
Matijevic said Pope Francis’ death hit Chicago’s Catholic community hard despite his never having visited the city.
“Chicago being such a diverse city, the pope speaking on the call for common ground, religious freedom and differing opinions while working together, I think resonates differently with the Chicago people,” he said.
‘A more humble and human church’
Rosario Ines visited St. Peter’s Church downtown with a bouquet of sunflowers and roses to pray in community with other Catholics. She was especially saddened by Francis’ death because of their ethnic connection.
“I’m Latina, and I wanted to go to Italy in the future to see him,” Ines said. “Because he’s really important to the Latino community, being the first Latino pope.”
The Rev. Robin Ryan, who teaches systematic theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, said Francis “symbolized a more human and humble church.”
“A lot of what a pope does is symbolic,” he said. “He does symbolic things, whether they’re in writing or in action that are meant to teach the faith. But you know, like washing the feet of people in prison on Holy Thursday, including non-Christians, including women, women or men, that’s a symbolic action.”
The Rev. Stan Chu Ilo of DePaul University met Francis in 2022 as part of a massive Catholic outreach project the pope undertook.
“He truly embodies a servant’s role at the existential peripheries,” Ilo said. “The ones who are rejected by society, those who are victims of war, violence, rape, women who are being excluded from leadership in the church, he opened the door for them. Migrants who are fleeing their homes, LGBTQ communities, those who are marginalized in society. He says the church is an open door to call, is a church of mercy, not a church of condemnation.”
Women have long been left out of the major decisions in the church, said Sister Barbara Reid, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. But Francis slowly began changing that by appointing several women to high positions within the Vatican.
“There are many of us who were hoping that it could have gone just a little bit farther during his papacy,” said Reid, also a leading scholar in feminist interpretation of the Scriptures. “He was a very savvy person in terms of trying to make decisions and lead in directions that would keep the whole church together and moving together.”
Michael Thiry was among the first same-sex couples in Chicago to be blessed by a priest after Francis allowed the practice in late 2023.
“It’s a sad day because he was really the first pope who was progressively minded, reaching out to the gay community, reaching out to migrants, and even the way he lived his life — without pomp and circumstance,” Thiry told the Sun-Times.
Thiry said he hoped the next pope continues the outreach that Pope Francis started.
“Pope Francis cracked the door for the gay community that hadn’t been cracked for thousands of years since St. Peter. I’m hoping that inclusivity will continue and get stronger,” Thiry said.
The Rev. Michael Trail, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church and School in Hyde Park, said Francis inspired him to make space for everyone in his church. St. Thomas is well known as a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ Catholics.
“Pope Francis really made space for the LGBTQ community in a beautiful way in the Catholic Church, not always in a perfect way, but I think in a beautiful way,” Trail said.
“Everyone wants to be seen and heard, and everyone wants to be acknowledged. And the Church has some teachings that can be alienating for others,” he said. “And I think Pope Francis did the beautiful work, but also the delicate work of opening the church, but also remaining faithful to what the church teaches. And that’s a tough and delicate balance.”
Eileen Walsh commuted for over an hour from Oak Park to get to Holy Name after learning of Francis’ death.
“They say he’s at peace, and I feel when people leave this world they’re at peace,” Walsh, 63, said. She “shed some tears for him. Just to be able to come down here for two minutes, it’s strengthening my faith.”
Francis was also outspoken about the dire need to fight climate change, said the Rev. Brian Sauder, chief executive of the environmental organization Faith in Place in Chicago.
The pope spread a message “that recognizes that care for the Earth and care for the poor are one,” Sauder said. “It’s my hope that that continues and whoever succeeds Pope Francis, that this attention to care and solidarity and the poor” continues.
But Francis fell short of protecting victims of sex abuse perpetrated by clergy members, said David Clohessy, the former national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. Chohessy, in a statement, said Francis failed to hold bishops accountable for shielding abusive clerics.
“His genial personality and warm demeanor distracted many from the unhealthy and still essentially unaddressed structural and cultural flaws in the church that cause kids to keep being hurt and this crisis to continue,” said Clohessy, now the director of the Missouri SNAP chapter.
Leaders of all faiths mourn Francis
Cardinal Blase Cupich, who last saw Francis in November, told the Sun-Times the pope was always happy to see you.
“He sees so many people every day, but he gave you the impression he was so glad to see you. And he did that, I think, with everybody,” Cupich said. “The number of times that I met him, he always wanted to put people at ease, and he had a wonderful way of doing that, sometimes through humor. But also he was an individual who would be really very serious, but he never took himself seriously.”
Cupich will soon head to the Vatican and join the College of Cardinals tasked with selecting the next pope. He’s one of the 10 voting cardinals from the U.S.
“As I compare [Francis] with past popes,” Cupich says, “John Paul II told us what we should do. Benedict told us why we should do it, and Francis said, do it. So the three of them were in sync, but they took different approaches.”
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham, mourned Francis on social media.
“He challenged us to treat every person with dignity and respect, and that Justice and Love are the DNA of the Gospel. His voice of conscience will be terribly missed in these times as we are watching the very Soul of America being stripped away each day,” Pfleger wrote.
A picture of Pope Francis is displayed at Holy Name Cathedral. “The number of times that I met him, he always wanted to put people at ease, and he had a wonderful way of doing that, sometimes through humor,” Cardinal Blase Cupich said. “But also he was an individual who would be really very serious, but he never took himself seriously.”
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
The pontiff’s Easter Sunday message, read aloud by an aide, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages.
Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Francis put morals over divisions and politics in calling for a ceasefire and criticizing Israel’s military campaign.
“He was one of the few courageous, compassionate voices that spoke up at a time in which so many voices remain silent or cheered on the genocide,” Rehab said.
Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund, said Francis was a “true friend to the Jewish community in Chicago.” He condemned antisemitism and believed Catholics and Jews should work together, Nasatir said.
“He felt that Jews and Catholics needed to be side by side in terms of their relationships and making sure that the world is a better place,” Nasatir said.
Chicago and Illinois elected leaders also shared their condolences.
“He fought for the rights and the dignity of the poor, prisoners, migrants, and outcasts as part of his vision for peace and social justice,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in the statement. “Guided by his deep faith in God and humanity, Pope Francis advocated for a world without war.”
Gov. JB Pritzker said on social media that Francis extended a hand “to help anyone in need” and “showed the world how to lead with empathy and humility.”
Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill. said in a statement that Francis was particularly loved in the Latino Catholic community.
“Pope Francis’ progressive legacy expands past the Church, being an advocate for peace for every person and community across the world,” Garcia said. “His perspective on interfaith dialogue and social justice paved the way for positive reforms in the Catholic community. He consistently drew attention to the plight of the poor and warned against a ‘culture of indifference’ toward marginalized populations.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a statement that Pope Francis’ message of peace is needed now more than ever.
“We should honor the Pope with a ‘Francis Day’ of world peace: Stop the bombing in Ukraine and Gaza; feed the dying in Sudan and around the globe; and show kindness to one another.”
Contributing: Associated Press, David Struett, Shannon Tyler, Adora Namigadde and Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
