Michigan faithful mourn Pope Francis, assess his legacy

DETROIT — The death of Pope Francis on Monday left many Michigan Catholics remembering his message to help the poor and the most vulnerable, while others said he left a complex legacy with conflicting messages on church teaching.

Part of the pope's legacy could be seen in Detroit, where Jesuit priests built a nonprofit that began with inviting people to come inside a church amid a snowstorm that evolved into a day center serving the city's most vulnerable residents, offering meals, showers, laundry services and free clinics. But 25 years into the work, the center was still referred to as a warming center.

The warming center inside Detroit's Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church was renamed the Pope Francis Center in 2015 after the pontiff, early in his papacy, asked for showers to be built for the homeless inside the restrooms of St. Peter's Square outside the historic basilica in Vatican City. It is among the few places in the region honoring the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

"(Pope) Francis' vision was that we care for those who are in need and those less fortunate than us ... a man who truly deeply cares about the poor ," said the Rev. Tim McCabe, Society of Jesus, and CEO and executive director of the Pope Francis Center, which has served 40,000 people over the past decade and has evolved with a transitional housing complex for the homeless.

"Our culture here is to make sure that every person that walks through our door feels loved, feels that we care about them, that we don't judge them for how they live or how they arrived in this place but rather see them as our brothers and sisters, our family members who have fallen on hard times."

Pope Francis died Monday at age 88 after leading the world's Catholics since March 2013, prompting an outpouring of grief around the world. His death came after spending weeks in the hospital during February and March with double pneumonia following a lifelong struggle with lung ailments. It also came shortly after he blessed thousands at an Easter Sunday appearance on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and had a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza.

He was the first Jesuit to lead the flock of Catholics, but took the name of a Franciscan religious brother, Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. Many consider his greatest legacy to be his message of helping the poor and the most vulnerable. His papacy changed the focus of the church, from being separate from the world to being part of the world, McCabe said.

"The most vulnerable among us is those who we should be walking with," McCabe said. "The shepherd should smell like the sheep, he says. ... That mindset of compassion and mercy and forgiveness has permeated his papacy. That's his legacy, more than anything else."

Possible tributes to Francis

The Archdiocese of Detroit's 213 parishes will offer many traditions for the 901,640 Catholics to honor the pontiff and his life, spokesperson Holly Fournier said before the pope's death. Masses, rosaries and other public prayer opportunities are likely to be held, she said. At many of the churches, bells will ring for every year of the Pontiff's life.

"Some churches may place black bunting or a spray of flowers over the main entrance doors and set aside an area in the church for prayer for the repose of the soul of the Pontiff," Fournier said. "This area could include a photo, the Pascal Candle, a spray of flowers, a place where the faithful can kneel, a book for writing prayers and intentions, and, if possible, votive candles for lighting."

"There is also a custom of celebrating nine days of Masses, which communicate nine days of mourning," Fournier continued. "This is referred to in Latin as the Novendiale. The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament plans to celebrate the Novendiale when the time comes. It is possible other parishes will choose to do the same."

The Catholic Church has been fortunate to have some "pretty amazing popes" over the past century including Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, who has been declared a saint, said said Theresa Lisiecki, retired director of religious education at St. Colette Catholic Church in Livonia, one of four parishes grouped together in the archdiocese that named themselves the "Pope Francis Family of Parishes."

Pope Francis is in the same caliber, Lisiecki said.

"One of the things that makes Francis so great is his humility," Lisiecki said.

A complex legacy

But one Michigan priest said the pope leaves a complex legacy.

He had a “papacy of ambiguity,” said the Rev. Robert Sirico, who is pastor emeritus of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Parish in Grand Rapids.

“When he came in, he said he wanted to make ‘a mess,’ and he’s made a mess,” said Sirico, who is president emeritus of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, a research nonprofit in Grand Rapids that promotes the benefits of free markets to religious communities and others. “He has given a lot of conflicting messages.”

Sirico is referring to Pope Francis’ declaration in 2013 to Argentinian pilgrims at the World Youth Day in Buenos Aires that “I hope for a mess ... that the Church takes to the streets. That we defend ourselves from comfort, that we defend ourselves from clericalism."

The pope reaffirmed the church’s teachings on a variety of issues, from birth control to gay marriage to transgender issues, Sirico said. But when Pope Francis played the role of pastor and tried to ease the pain of others, he sent out conflicting messages, he said.

“How do you meet with a group of transgender people one day and the next day say it’s not right?” Sirico asked.

The bishops, including some progressive ones, have been trying to hold together these inconsistencies, he said, noting it is a vast contrast with the legacy of Pope John Paul II, who led the church from 1978 to 2005.

Pope Francis made “problematic innovations” in two areas, Sirico said.

In his first encyclical called “The Light of Faith” in 2013, Francis wrote in a footnote that divorced and remarried Catholics may, in certain cases, receive communion, despite a general prohibition in church teaching, he said.

Then in 2018, the pope revised a paragraph in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to say “the death penalty is inadmissible.” The pope’s revision is ambiguous, but it’s been read by progressives as a condemnation of capital punishment, Sirico said.

“I don’t think it a total condemnation,” he said. “But it is highly problematic.”

Pope Francis died hours after meeting briefly on Easter Sunday with Vice President JD Vance, giving Vance three chocolate eggs for his children while the vice president told the pontiff that he was praying for him every day. The two had clash over the Trump administration's deportation policy, with the pope condemning it and Vance defending it.

"It is remarkable to think that the last world leader he would meet with would be the American vice president and a Catholic convert," Sirico said, referring to Vance's conversion in 2019.

'An example of the presence of our Lord in our world'

The pope's passing was noted solemnly across Metro Detroit on Monday.

The Rev. John Wynnycky, pastor of Holy Innocents-Saint Barnabas Catholic Community in Roseville, began 8 a.m. Mass Monday by telling the two dozen or so congregants that "we’re saddened by the news of Pope Francis’ death."

The babbling sound of the baptismal fountain at the back of the church was interrupted briefly by one woman’s small gasp of surprise, but the Mass went on as usual.

During his homily, the pastor said Easter was one of his favorite times of year because it was when Catholics and Christians reflect on the mystery of Christ’s resurrection and how his work continues in our world. He also mentioned the pope’s passing.

"Again, we’re saddened by the news of the death of Pope Francis," he said. "Thinking about his life and how he ... was an example of the presence of our Lord in our world."

Wynnycky said he especially recalls the pope declared in 2016 a "Holy Year of Mercy."

"I think he looked at the world really with eyes on those who were marginalized and saw the dignity of life, the goodness of life," he said.

The pastor called on his flock, who gathered as a family of faith, to be mindful and look with mercy on those who really need it, and for them to be examples of love and mercy.

After Mass had ended, some of the church’s parishioners said they were shocked by the pope’s death.

"We had no idea,” Judy Watta said. She was caught by surprise by Wynnycky’s announcement and she said it was sad news.

"We’re going to miss Pope Francis," Watta, 53, of St. Clair Shores, said. “We think he was a wonderful pope."

She had brought her mother, Liz Watta, 83, also of St. Clair Shores, to Holy Innocents' Monday morning mass. Watta said they go to mass every day.

"We were praying for him to get better and he did," said Liz Watta. "But now I’m told he’s died."

Mike Wallace, 63, who was speaking with Watta and her mother, said he took some consolation that Pope Francis passed away at Easter. "Maybe he’s rising with Christ now."

Like the Wattas, Wallace said he also attends Mass daily.

He said he was having his morning coffee when he saw the news about the pope’s death. He also got a text from a friend.

"I offered a prayer for the pope before I came here," Wallace said. "And Fr. John dedicated the mass to his repose. That’s what we can do. Pray for his continued journey to God’s Kingdom."

Judy Watta added: "We will continue to pray for him and pray for our next pope. We’ll pray that he’s a great pope, too. We’re trusting the living Jesus to take care of his church and take care of Pope Francis and any pope we have."

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