While Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome, mourners gathered in Miami, more than 5,000 miles away, to remember his humanity and humility.
Parishioners on Saturday filled the Cathedral of St. Mary near Northwest 75th Street and Second Avenue to honor the pontiff’s life.
Mourners prayed. Some wept, while others smiled, and several placed flowers at the altar.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski led the Mass at St. Mary.
“Perhaps, truth be told, he was highly regarded by those outside the church and by many within the church,” he said.
The archbishop also singled out the pope’s selflessness.
“He sought out the people on the outskirts, on the outside. He had a tremendous sympathy for the outsider,” said Wenski, “whether that was when he was a bishop, in the slums of Buenos Aires, or as pope when he visited the refugee boat people from Africa and Lampedusa, or when he embraced a man with a skin disease at St. Peter’s [Basilica] or when he visited the prisons. He was a man that had a common touch.”
Francis broke with tradition in life, choosing to live at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse, rather than at the main residence.
Wenski said the pontiff also broke with tradition in death.
“He always went to St. Mary Major [Basilica], and he felt that Mary really wanted him to be buried in her church,” he said.
The pope was known for his advocacy for migrants and marginalized groups, as well as his concern for the poor.
“Pope Francis was not a man without some controversy and, as I tell some of my priests, ‘You know, you can’t please everybody,’” said Wenski.
Wenski said Francis will be remembered a man who led with his heart, hoping to bring the world together.
“So, you only have to please one person, and that’s the Lord,” said.