Catholic, Jesuit leaders across the Northwest mourn Pope Francis, remembering him as a humble, empathetic leader

Monday was a day of bittersweet mourning, reflection and anticipation for Catholics in the Inland Northwest after news arrived of Pope Francis’ death at 88 years old.

Francis’ tenure was one of firsts: the first Latin American pope, the first to adopt the name Francis and the first Jesuit selected to fill the role in the church’s almost 2,000-year history.

The Rev. Peter Byrne, who serves as pastor of the Sacred Heart Mission in De Smet, Idaho, said Francis embodied much of what Jesuit parishioners stand for. He advocated for the world’s sick, poor and hungry, and never lost sight of his overarching missionary mission in his rise to the Vatican.

“He had that ability to reach out to, as he would say, the margins of society,” Byrne said. “I did a lot of parish work, and I love the image he used that the church should be a field hospital, to be a place people come to get healed. Not to build walls, but open those doors.”

Pope Francis likely is the first to be as visible and accessible to the public as he was. While he shied away from changing doctrine, Francis was candid in public statements about his thoughts on longstanding interchurch debates, as well as humanitarian crises and hot-button issues around the world.

Byrne said the understanding Francis would bring a different approach to the role became clear on the first day he greeted the public from the Vatican. Byrne was in Seattle with fellow faith leaders at the St. James Cathedral, and Jesuit and diocesan priests alike present for the meeting felt “a great sense of joy” when Francis called out the public to pray for him, flipping the longstanding relationship with the pope on its head.

“Everybody said, ‘Oh, this is new, this is different,” Byrne said.

In doing so, Francis made clear his view he was just another member of the human race, with weaknesses and need for divine assistance just like anyone else.

“Perhaps the greatest legacy which Pope Francis left the Church was his emphasis on mercy,” diocese of Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly said in a written statement. “The Holy Father created hundreds of Missionaries of Mercy throughout the world and intended these priests to be living signs of God’s love and welcome to all those seeking forgiveness.”

“The fact that he designated three priests to be Missionaries of Mercy in the Diocese of Spokane demonstrated his fatherly care for our local Church,” Daly added.

The pontiff spent much of his 12-year papacy advocating for the world’s downtrodden and bringing the church into the modern age, and in doing so, found himself at odds with a faction of Catholics who preferred the more conservative, traditional approach of Francis’ predecessors. His critics often point to his teaching about the dangers of climate change, nonjudgmental comments on same-sex marriage and divorce, or support for migrant communities as overstepping into politics or casting doubt on established doctrine.

Kevin McMann, a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Spokane, said he hopes the next papacy brings about a return to tradition. While he’s saddened by the pope’s passing, he said there’s a fair amount of joy in that “one of our brothers is going on to receive his reward in heaven.”

“I look forward to the advent of a new pope, and maybe for a little return to the gospel, less politics,” McMann said.

In a written statement marking Francis’ passing, Congressman Michael Baumgartner avoided mention of the pope’s controversies, and called him “a voice of compassion and moral clarity in a world too often divided.” He said his family joined Catholics in the Inland Northwest and across the world in prayer and in mourning.

“I think he was a remarkable individual that obviously had a heartfelt, pastoral love for the poor and those from the margins of society,” Baumgartner said in a later interview. “I had never met him, but having spent a year with the Jesuits in Mozambique, oftentimes when I reflected on Pope Francis, I thought about those Jesuits that I had worked with and how he represented his community and their works and teachings.”

While Francis’ sentiments over the years have stirred some controversy, they’ve also resonated with followers and nonbelievers alike. Rob McCann, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Spokane, said his organization “felt blessed by a Pope who championed people in need,” before noting the nonprofit named their Spokane Valley housing project the Pope Francis Haven in his honor.

“He was a Pope who was the living embodiment of our Mission Statement here at Catholic Charities Eastern Washington: Feed the Hungry. Heal the Hurting. Welcome the Stranger,” McCann said in a written statement. “…. He was an amazing champion for life and for the poor, the vulnerable, the forgotten and the discarded from what he called, ‘the throw away culture.’”

Sister Rosalie Locati of the Washington-based Sisters of Providence said she has a “profound sense of gratitude” for Francis’ leadership, particularly how he impacted the Catholic Church and the world beyond. She’s supportive of his efforts to elevate women in the church, even if it was not to the heights of priesthood that some desired, and his broader efforts to widen the tent of Catholicism.

Locati challenged believers disappointed with Francis’ social justice positions, or changes to traditions like Latin mass, to investigate within themselves just why they take issue. Change can be uncomfortable, and on top of that, she said there is a tendency for American Catholics in particular to conflate their beliefs with their political views, when faith should be the overarching unifier.

“No matter where we are on that continuum from the ultra-liberal to the ultra-conservative, the more important thing is, is that we are faith in action and that we are loving as we do what we do,” Locati said. “The organization or the rituals and all of those have meaning and a place, but they’re not the focus.”

One section of scripture states, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Locati said Francis’ comments to followers to be the ones who are knocking, as well as answering the door, were greatly impactful to her own life and work.

“What he said is that we knock on the door from the inside to be let out, and that part of the world and the church’s responsibility in society is to let love out, to impact the lives, and the realities, of what’s happening in people in the world,” Locati said. “Not just in the Catholic Church, but in what humanity needs.”

Francis’ popularity among non-Catholics is a testament to the humility he showed in the role, his frank acknowledgment of the church’s shortcomings past and present, and focus on leading from “the front, the middle and the back,” as Locati put it.

“People recognize goodness when they experience goodness,” Locati said. “He was not out to convert people. What he was out to do was to recognize and to show through his life how all persons are lovable, can be loved and need to be loved.”

Byrne said he admired the courage Francis showed in facing the communities hurt by the Catholic Church. Francis embraced transparency and accountability after his predecessors had failed to address the clerical sex abuse scandals that rocked the institution, believed LGTBQ and divorced members of the church should not be excluded and met with the First Nations communities of Canada to apologize for the abuse endured at boarding schools.

Byrne, who serves as a pastor for the Coeur d’Alene tribe, said the Canada visit highlighted the kind of leader Francis was.

“He walked into a very, very challenging thing, humbly and with a great sense of asking for forgiveness,” Byrne said. “That was not an easy thing to do.”

For Locati, the lasting lesson from Francis’ tenure is the importance of recognizing and respecting every individual’s dignity, and being present as they shared their experiences, “whether it was a dignitary visiting or the humblest person, whether he was washing the feet of a person in prison, or any of those things.”

“He wasn’t judgmental; he knew the reality of people’s lives and their struggles,” Locati said. “He always talked about himself as being a sinner like everyone else in the world, having foibles, having limitations, and all of those realities. …. That’s what holiness is. That’s what it means to be people that are broken, people that truly need a kind of transformative love that makes a difference.”

Thayne McCulloh, president of Gonzaga University, thanked Francis on behalf of the Jesuit institution for modeling the values of “humility, mercy, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable,” as well as for “his relentless advocacy for peace and justice, and an end to violence in our world.”

“His legacy will be forever shaped by his advocacy for those most in need, his global efforts to underscore humanity’s obligation to care for the planet, and his appeals to human cooperation,” McCulloh said. “Pope Francis constantly reminded us that the Gospel calls us to be servants to one another, seeking justice for the oppressed and living lives of simplicity and grace.”

The College of Cardinals, comprised of bishops and Vatican officials around the world, will meet in the coming weeks to select a new leader from their ranks. Cardinal Blase Cupich, who served as bishop of Spokane from 2010 to 2014, will be one of the voting members.

Cupich told WBBM CBS Channel 2 in Chicago on Monday that Francis “was against ideologies.” He liked people and was at ease among them, Cupich said.

“He wanted to make sure that, as he said, ‘Reality is greater than ideas.’ What’s the reality of people’s lives?” Cupich said. “That’s what he wanted to be in touch with.”

Cupich said he plans to approach the conclave with humility, and noted the church is looking for a successor to Francis, not a replacement.

“I’m going to be quiet and listen to see what is asked of us and do my best to participate,” he said.

Locati said she hopes the Holy Spirit guides the conclave, rather than being mired in or influenced by “any fears or angers or anything.” She wants the next papacy to continue listening to what the people of the world need, and for it to serve as a unifying force.

“I’d like to see a new pope that has the same heart movement as Francis, that has the same sense of love for all persons, all of creation, who has a sense that leads us, to the world and Catholic community, because we’re a large faith community, to believe that all doesn’t have to be well, and that to strive in faith, we need to be a community of believers together.”

S-R staffers Orion Donovan Smith and Jonathan Brunt contributed to this article.