“He built a new church:” Prince George reacts to Pope Francis passing away

“He cared about people. That’s what definitely came across to everybody, not just to Catholics,” added St. Mary’s parishioner Norm Eason.

“He was always welcoming to the poor and the marginalized and those in prisons, and the first thing he did when he was Pope and was on the plane: he carried his own bag, and it was such a shock for him to be just down to earth,” added fellow parishioner Colleen Eason.

Father Lucas says Pope Francis lived up to his namesake of Saint Francis, as Saint Francis focused on helping those in need, practiced and preached a humble, simple, lifestyle, and he adds Francis also was known for literally building churches. Father Lucas says Pope Francis, like the Saint, also built the church community and expanded it.

“If you look at our Pope Francis, he too built the Church of God and the community of God by bringing people into the home, into the Catholic Church, various people, various communities,” he said.

“I’m really touched by what he lived and what he showed and what he gave to the world,” he added.

Pope Francis made history when he officially apologized for the Church’s role in residential schools, and the harms it caused for the Indigenous community. This is largely considered his single most impactful moment for Canadians.

“This Pope Francis left a legacy where he really committed to not only reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples, but also, really had an ear for the poor and also voiced the concerns of the poor across the world,” said the BC Assembly of First Nations Chief Terry Teegee.

“He is the first pope that acknowledged the harms of the Catholic Church. He is the first pope that acknowledged the doubting of the doctrines of discovery, which allowed the colonization of the Americas and Africa,” Teegee continued.

Teegee accepts the Pope’s apology, and hopes the successor to Pope Francis will continue the work started by the late Pontiff.

“Really accounting for the Catholic Church and their role that they played in colonization and also the traumas that colonization had on the Indigenous peoples here in Canada was a good step, but perhaps it could have went further,” Teegee said.

“He wanted to bring some change in the way we approach the community, to various people. And some of the parishioners expressed that they want this kind of approach to be carried forward by the successes of Pope Francis,” Father Lucas added.

As for what Teegee hopes to see, he hopes more action is taken towards reconciliation under a new pope, which primarily focus on rebuilding and revitalizing Indigenous cultures.

“I think these gestures are good to a certain point, but I think it needs to go further in terms of the role that the Catholic Church played. So perhaps repatriation of artifacts, repatriation of information that we need of the roles that the Catholic Church played in residential school, perhaps more commitment to resources on revitalization of our languages, perhaps more of a role in terms of mental health and addictions,” Teegee said.

The official funeral for the Pope will take place Saturday, April 26, and a mass to remember the Pope will take place locally at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on May 2.

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by Tommy Osborne

“He built a new church:” Prince George reacts to Pope Francis passing away

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