Detroit archbishop reflects on the journey on which Pope Francis led the Church in his 12-year pontificate, final message on Easter
DETROIT — Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger led the local Church in mourning Pope Francis' death April 21 during a memorial Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The archbishop thanked the hundreds of faithful who descended from every corner of the Archdiocese of Detroit to the cathedral to commemorate the life and death of Pope Francis, whom the Vatican announced passed away at the age of 88 on Monday morning.
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“While a part of me is filled with sadness today, part of me is also filled with joy for one for whom I loved," Archbishop Weisenburger told the assembly. "Allow me to express my sincere sympathy to each of you — to each of us — and to the faithful around the world today who are mourning the loss of our beloved Pope Francis."
Archbishop Weisenburger greeted those gathered, including Archbishop-emeritus Allen H. Vigneron, auxiliary bishops, priests and deacons, to "pray for him, to ask the Lord to embrace him, and to hold him for all eternity in great joy."
Archbishop Weisenburger reflected upon a favorite quote from Pope Francis, “A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just,” observing how from the moment Pope Francis appeared on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square on March 13, 2013, he began a pontificate rooted in humility.
“As he stood on that balcony and faced that heaving mass of humanity in the piazza below, his words and his actions spoke of something paradoxically,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Something on one hand of the Church's great and living tradition with a capital ‘T,’ and at the same time, something spirit-filled and new. He began by asking those gathered, and through them all the world, first to pray for Pope Benedict, the pope emeritus. I thought it was wonderfully humble of him, a gracious gesture.”
Archbishop Weisenburger said the pope next graciously asked the baptized faithful to pray for him, and before blessing the universal Church for the first time as pope, he gave a tagline that would define his papacy: “Let us begin this journey together.”
“That was the beginning, and of this morning, that journeying with us has come to a close, even as his journey continues,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Having recalled his opening words to the world as pope, let us also call to mind his final words, sort of bookends, the homily he wasn’t able to deliver personally, but the homily for Easter that he wrote. In that, he spoke of his solidarity with suffering populations in Gaza, for whom he again begged for a ceasefire, and in Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and so many others. He reminded us in that homily yesterday that every life in precious.”
The atmosphere in the cathedral was subdued, with a black banner hanging over the front doors of the cathedral, and the church’s bells ringing 88 times — one for each year of the pope's life — before the opening procession.
Before the Mass, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Fisher led the assembly in praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul.
Sue DiCosmo of SS. Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Parish in Detroit made her way to the cathedral both to pray for Pope Francis and for the Church to continue on the journey he led during his 12-year pontificate.
“It’s been a blessing to have a Jesuit as our pope, someone who understands who we are and believes in the same things we do; this is a huge loss,” DiCosmo told Detroit Catholic. “My favorite lesson from Pope Francis is that everyone is a child of Christ, and it’s everyone’s Church; it doesn’t matter who you are, how you live your life, it’s everyone’s Church.”
DiCosmo said she was particularly inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which called for the care and stewardship of the environment as "our common home."
“It’s a message he preached to all the countries around the world,” DiCosmo said. “Try to do something eco-friendly each day; every time you pick something up, think of Pope Francis.”
Kiera Raymond, an Oakland University student and a parishioner at St. John Fisher Chapel University Parish in Rochester Hills, said she awoke early to the news of Pope Francis’ passing.
“I sat up in my bed, absolutely shocked,” Raymond told Detroit Catholic. “I was talking to some people the other day about how he was doing so much better, only to find out that he passed. I read through his last will and testament today, and it gave me a whole new perspective on the simplicity of his entire pontificate, on how he lived his vows as a religious and how it transferred to his pontificate.”
Raymond had the privilege to attend World Youth Day in Portugal in 2023 and to hear and witness Pope Francis' words as he celebrated with young people from around the world.
“Just being there with the pope and seeing his ministry, I really hope people remember Pope Francis’ love for the poor and how he truly lived the call to serve those who are the poorest among us,” Raymond said.
Archbishop Weisenburger reflected on Pope Francis’ final homily, prepared for Easter Sunday to be read aloud by the papal chaplain, in which the pope called for cessation of hostilities around the world and for respect for the dignity of the marginalized and vulnerable in all walks of life.
In it, Pope Francis preached to the world in his final act as pope the necessity of placing one's trust in the resurrection, and in Christ’s victory over death.
“In that moving homily, he urged those in political power not to yield to the logic of fear, which only leads to isolation, but instead to use their power to bring us into universal brotherhood,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Finally, in that wonderful address, he ended his words by expressing our Easter resurrection faith — a clarion call that the Lord lives forever, and that each of us is called to share in that life that knows no ends. These, brothers and sisters, are bookends of his time as shepherd of the universal Church, and the themes we can tease out of it were constant calls to peace, universal brotherhood, the dignity of all human life, and God’s great love of everyone.
“And brothers and sisters, I believe we were prodigiously blessed by the Holy Spirit working through him throughout that journey through us,” Archbishop Weisenburger concluded. “May he indeed share in that life that knows no end.”
