Philadelphians mourn Pope Francis' death and recall his 2015 visit

PHILADELPHIA — In the wake of Pope Francis’ death, Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez called on followers to remain hopeful.

“The Lord brought him home,” Perez said while standing next to a portrait of Francis in a video posted to X Monday. “We call all our faithful, all of his sheep, to pray for him and to pray for the repose of his soul.”

Francis, 88, the first Latin American pontiff, died Monday morning after having spent 38 days in the hospital for respiratory issues that worsened into double pneumonia. He made his final public appearance on Easter Sunday, blessing thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and briefly meeting with Vice President JD Vance.

Perez became the first Latino to lead Philadelphia’s archdiocese when Francis appointed him as archbishop in 2020 to replace Charles Chaput. He was seen as Francis’ first legacy appointment in the United States.

Francis “encouraged everyone to be an instrument of Christ’s compassionate love by extending a kind and merciful hand to the marginalized and those most in need,” Perez also said in a statement on behalf of the archdiocese of Philadelphia.

“Our hope is rooted and rounded in the very mystery of death and the resurrection of Christ to which Pope Francis as a person of faith — a man of faith — grounded his own heart," Perez said in the video. Perez will lead Mass Monday at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul to honor Francis. The service was to begin at 12:05 p.m. and be streamed on the Facebook pages for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Archbishop Perez.

Gov. Josh Shapiro also mourned Francis’ death, writing in a statement that the late pope “leaves a legacy of being a fighter for the defenseless.” Francis, Shapiro noted, spoke out about clergy sexual abuse in 2018 following a Pennsylvania grand jury report that recounted decades of abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

At the time, Francis said the church “did not act in a timely manner” to address the abuse, and that “no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.”

“He was the first of his position to finally acknowledge the suffering of survivors who have too long been ignored,” Shapiro said. “May his memory be a blessing.”

Mourners remember Francis’ Philly visit

Followers could not help but feel sorrow at the loss of Francis, who famously visited Philadelphia in 2015 as part of a historic six-day trip to the United States hosted by the World Meeting of Families Congress. Francis’ two-day visit to the city is considered to be one of the largest events Philadelphia has hosted.

Among the onlookers in 2015 was Joyce Anne Murphy, who said her heart broke little after hearing of Francis’ death. Grieving, she tried to head to work, but found herself walking to the basilica instead.

“I was just praying the doors were open because I wanted to thank the lord for giving us such a beautiful and gentle representative,” Murphy said. When the pope became ill, Murphy added, she knew it would be hard for him to make a full recovery due to his age, but she remained hopeful.

She compared seeing Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in 2015 to seeing a favorite sports player or a rock star. Francis was among Murphy’s favorite popes, prompting her to buy every magazine and newspaper she could find amid his visit to the city.

“That was my Super Bowl,” she said.

Francis’ time in Philadelphia was similarly impactful for Chuck Keating, who was getting ready for a day of teaching driver’s education when his wife told him of the pontiff’s death. The news brought a wave of “joy and sorrow mixed together,” said Keating, whose son Michael was blessed by Pope Francis in 2015.

Michael Keating, now 20, was sitting in a wheelchair beside his mother as Francis disembarked his plane and got into a black Fiat. Suddenly, the car stopped, and Francis got out to cradle the child’s face and kiss him on the forehead.

The moment was transformative, generating news stories that led to $130,000 to get an accessible van to transport Michael Keating, who has cerebral palsy, more easily, and pay for medical bills. Now, a photo of the pope overlooks Michael’s bed, his father said, and the family marks the anniversary of the blessing with a large dinner.

“He believes in everybody,” Chuck Keating said. “Michael and the pope’s visit have taught me more about life than anything else. They help me push forward.”

A Philadelphian abroad

Julia Barth, a Temple University junior, still can’t believe that she got to see Francis speak at his last Easter service.

Barth, 20, has been studying abroad in Rome at the university’s Italian campus since January. She and her roommates live just next to the Vatican, and would joke that they were neighbors with the pope, Barth said Monday.

Barth and her friends attended a portion of Easter Mass at what would end up being the Pope’s last public appearance. She described the event as extremely crowded.

“He spoke a lot more than I thought he would,” Barth recalled. “And he looked good — not great — but better than before when he was hospitalized.”

It wasn’t her first time seeing Pope Francis, either. The Bucks County native who lives near Temple’s main campus when she’s stateside also attended one of the pope’s services on the day of the Super Bowl. She says the shock of his death was still hitting her and her friends.

“I feel so lucky that I got to see him when I did. I’m not super religious, but I love the pope,” she said.

Barth and her friends took a walk near St. Peter’s Square after the news broke. She said the Easter setup from Sunday where Pope Francis stood remains intact, including flowers from the holiday Mass. She could see people crying.

“A lot of people are mourning, it’s very sad,” Barth said. “They rang a bell for every year he was alive and we stayed for all of them — 88 bells.”

Back in Philadelphia, Graziella Porcaro, a 72-year-old native of Benevento, Italy, didn’t expect to spend her vacation grappling with the pope’s death. She said she could remember the bells ringing in Rome when Pope Francis was elected, a moment that she now pulls joy from amid the sadness.

“I will always think of him with a childlike smile on his face,” Porcaro said. “He was a sweet man. A man who lived by the thinking of ‘who am I to judge others?’”

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Staff writers Emily Bloch and Michelle Myers contributed to this article.