Catholic Londoners remember the 'transformative' legacy of Pope Francis

Isha Bhargava · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 7:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Members of London's Catholic assemblage are remembering Pope Francis arsenic a transformative person who was dedicated to serving others and ever stood up for what helium believed in. 

The Vatican announced that Francis, the person of the Catholic Church since 2013, died Monday greeting — a time aft his past nationalist quality connected Easter Sunday erstwhile helium blessed thousands of radical successful St. Peter's Square. He was 88. 

"People truly liked Pope Francis; they felt helium was a pastor astatine bosom who truly reached retired to people. He connected with them, and they were inspired by his message," said Bishop Ron Fabbro of the Diocese of London. 

"He truly did things that radical saw and were profoundly moved by, truthful I think they volition beryllium saddened that he's passed distant and thankful for the enactment that helium gave our church." 

The pontiff, primitively from Argentina, was elected person of the Roman Catholic Church connected March 13, 2013. During this time, he ushered successful a fig of firsts for a pope: the archetypal from Latin America, the archetypal from the Jesuit bid and the archetypal to instrumentality the sanction Francis.

His 12-year papacy moved toward a much open, welcoming Catholic Church that prioritized empathy for the mediocre and disenfranchised — including Indigenous victims of Canada's church-run residential schools.

Francis besides made past successful the outpouring of 2022 when helium apologized for the "deplorable" behaviour of immoderate members of the Catholic Church successful Canada's residential schoolhouse system. A fewer months later, helium said that strategy had carried retired a taste "genocide."

Fabbro first met Francis in 2017 erstwhile the Bishops of Canada visited Rome; he said helium was moved by the pontiff's accent connected listening to radical and learning astir their experiences, including that of bishops.  

"I was truly impressed with his interest for america arsenic bishops, what we were experiencing, the challenges we were facing and I retrieve the connection helium gave america arsenic we were leaving. He said 'Be adjacent to your people,'" Fabbro recalled.

It's a connection the diocese is putting into practice. 

The 2 met again erstwhile the Pope came to Canada and issued an apology to Indigenous communities, which Indigenous members of the diocese committee told Fabbro was truly meaningful and signified the Pope's respect for reconciliation, helium said.

Catholic Londoners feeling Pope's loss 

Mark Yenson, the interim vice-president of King's University College, a Catholic affiliate of Western University, met the Pope successful December astatine a theology league hosted by the Vatican, and described it arsenic a "very quality encounter."

"Pope Francis was a transformative person for the Catholic Church. His clip was a time of large modulation wherever helium challenged the religion ... not to look inwards but to look outwards, to truly beryllium adjacent to the marginalized successful society and to beryllium a listening community," said Yenson, adding the assemblage successful London is feeling the sadness of losing a person who focused connected gathering bridges. 

"Those I've spoken to are feeling that grief of losing idiosyncratic that I deliberation radical truly saw arsenic a begetter figure, idiosyncratic who was an important motivation dependable successful a hard governmental time, and truthful I deliberation radical are feeling a spot much lonely contiguous with his passing."

Sister Patricia McKeon of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph successful Canada said she appreciated the Pope's tenacity successful some prioritizing his service, contempt his frail health, and making advancement successful the Catholic Church. 

"He was solid. That antheral wasn't going to springiness into things that helium didn't judge in, truthful I truly had a batch of admiration for him and for the mode helium kept connected going successful spite of his health," she said "What was important to him was not truthful overmuch his health, but the authorities of the satellite and what helium could lend to the betterment of it."

McKeon hopes the adjacent pope carries connected Francis's bequest of meaningful change.