News of the first sighting of black smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney came minutes before the start of a special Mass in Los Angeles to pray for the election of a new pope at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on May 7.
In his homily, Archbishop Gomez said the conclave was a historic moment for the Catholic Church in which “we all have our own personal responsibility” to “pray hard” for the College of Cardinals.
“We ask the Holy Spirit to come and to fill the hearts of the cardinals meeting in the conclave that began this morning in Rome,” said the archbishop.
Reflecting on the Mass’ first reading (Acts 8:1-8), where the Church was facing torment and abuse with the murder of St. Stephen, Archbishop Gomez noted that “even then, the persecution could not defeat the Church. The Church began with 12 men and a handful of women and other apostles. They were threatened and persecuted by the government and the religious authorities of their time. Yet within just a few hundred years, this little Church had grown and converted the entire known world, just by the sheer force of their preaching, by the witness of their lives and the power of the Holy Spirit.
“And 2,000 years later, this Church has spread to the ends of the earth and her mission continues.
“So we pray today with confidence … we know this conclave is part of what the apostles called ‘the plan of the mystery.’ The Church’s mission is not just for the cardinals or the bishops or the pope. Jesus gives each of us a responsibility to share the faith, spread the good news of his love, and to help others to find him and to love him.”
Noel Díaz, founder of the L.A.-based El Sembrador media ministry, spoke at the end of the Mass about how Pope Francis gave him a pair of his well-worn black shoes last Thanksgiving, the result of a years-long relationship that started with Díaz once shining his shoes on a plane.
The shoes were displayed in a glass case on the altar on Wednesday, venerated by a long line of people after the Mass ended. Eight members of the Knights of Columbus served as honor guards for the display.
“To me, more than the shoes, it’s a message that we have as Catholics to serve our brothers and sisters, to serve those more in need,” Díaz told the crowd. “In this time in our lives, there are so many people hurting. Pope Francis said he always wanted the church to go out. The message I felt he left with the shoes is saying: Continue the mission.”
As Díaz received condolences from a line of those in attendance after the Mass ended, he expanded on his thoughts about the conclave and the next pope.
“I know whoever will be the next pope, he will have his own way of looking at things,” Díaz said. “But I do feel that the legacy of Pope Francis was really to be in touch with the people and open the doors to the Church for anyone. I pray whoever is the next pope will have the main principles that Pope Francis had — always outside and being with those poor and in need. We will see.”
Among those who wanted to see the shoes was Father Mark Hallahan, a retired Episcopal Anglican priest who lives in Los Angeles and served as the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pomona for 16 years.
“These are truly the shoes of the fisherman,” said Hallahan, who said he once lived in the Catholic Worker community in Los Angeles. “They aren’t fancy red or velvet, but very well worn, walking the journey for God. We have a very deep love for Pope Francis and we grieve his loss in the Anglican community. We saw how he was a great hope for unity with his warmth and love that touched all of us. To me, he’s a saint in heaven.”
Megan Gaspar, a parishioner at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, said it was important for her, even as a non-Catholic, to attend the Mass “because, as a practicing Christian, I want to support my brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe we are all followers of Jesus. I hope there is an embracing of all religions (in the conclave of cardinals) in that we take the basic tenets of Jesus and they are open to that understanding that this affects all God’s children.”
A parishioner of St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Temple City, Maureen Bustamante said she happened to be downtown on jury duty and felt compelled during her lunch break to come to the cathedral.
“We are all watching the conclave and I hope we have a continuation of what Pope Francis started,” she said. “It’s about being more inclusive to all folks and really embracing them.”
Gerry Heise, who lives with his family in Hawthorne and works in fundraising for the L.A. Philharmonic, said he read Robert Harris’ 2016 book “Conclave” and saw the 2024 movie in the last few months.
“I’ve always enjoyed the liturgical process of the Catholic Church and the ritual of the conclave and all that it means,” Heise said. “The book and movie were fascinating takes on it. Obviously, there isn’t a whole lot known about what happens. But I feel even in the dramatization, it’s a reminder to me the cardinals are working with the Holy Spirit, but there’s also a human element to the conclave and that in itself is fascinating.”
