BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Catholics throughout the Peninsula are mourning the death of Pope Francis, who died earlier today (April 21) at the age of 88.
Francis died in Rome, the day after Easter Sunday, ending his 12-year papacy that started in 2013. He was the first Latin American pontiff who oversaw the Catholic Church.
Francis died of a stroke that put him in a coma, which led his heart to fail, according to the Associated Press. His death was announced by Irish-born Vatican camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who will be taking charge of the administration of the Holy See until a new pope is elected.
Francis’s death was recognized by many Catholic clergy, archbishops, bishops and churches around the Bay Area. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in East Palo Alto felt saddened but relieved knowing he is in a better place.
“We invited him to East Palo Alto. He didn’t come, but maybe he’ll come in spirit,” Priest Lawrence Goode at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in East Palo Alto said.
Goode wrote with other members a letter inviting him to visit their church and thanked him for the good example he has been to the community and the good image he displayed to Saint Francis.
“We found a letter that we had sent,” Goode said. “We told him that we were happy for him because he picked the name Francis, which is the name of our church.”
One of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church members took the letter with him on a trip to Rome on behalf of the church. After the letter was delivered to Francis, Goode received a rosary from him through the mail, and the member received a plaque.
In the entrance to the church’s offices, a photo of Francis hangs in recognition. Every Catholic church has a picture of the pope, according to Goode.
Francis delved into issues such as climate change and helping the poor, which resonated with Goode. Francis tied religion with the poor, the environment, and abortion, Goode said.
“[Other popes] don’t go there, but he took it there,” Goode said. “He took it to its full meaning.”
Goode hopes to see an African or South American pope take his place for more representation of the marginalized communities.