Archbishop José H. Gomez recalled Pope Francis’ sense of humor and personal concern for Catholics in Southern California at a special Mass April 21, hours after the late pontiff’s death in Rome.
“My feelings today are very personal,” said the archbishop at the Easter Monday Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. “I am going to miss him, big time.”
The special Mass, announced only hours earlier, drew more than 500 people to the April 21 noon Mass. Joining Archbishop Gomez were three Los Angeles auxiliary bishops appointed by Pope Francis: Bishop Marc Trudeau, named in 2018, and Bishops Albert Bahhuth and Matthew Elshoff, OFM, both appointed in 2023.
In his homily, Archbishop Gomez recalled a few memories from his personal relationship with Francis, including the time he joined him for a private Mass in his Vatican residence weeks after his election in 2013. Archbishop Gomez also recalled how, being both natives of Latin America, the two always spoke — and joked — with each other in Spanish.
After the appointment of three auxiliary bishops for Los Angeles in 2015, Archbishop Gomez remembered how Francis would make a point to check in about LA’s “triplets.”
When one of them, Bishop David G. O’Connell, was killed in his home in 2023, the pope seemed to be deeply affected.
“I will always be moved when I remember how he reached out to console me, and how he offered prayers and condolences for the whole family of God after Bishop Dave died,” said the archbishop, who also recalled Francis’ expressions of sympathy after other tragedies, including the wildfires that struck LA in January of this year.
He also recalled his collaboration with the Argentinean pontiff for the sainthood cause of St. Junípero Serra, and joining him at the altar for the 2015 canonization Mass in Washington, D.C.
“Pope Francis wanted to inspire us, to remind us that the Church in this country was ‘missionary’ from its beginnings,” said Archbishop Gomez, recalling the importance of America’s first Hispanic saint. “He wanted to strengthen us to continue the work that those missionaries started.”
Catholics at the April 21 Mass who woke up to news of Francis’ death on Monday morning said they were drawn by the pope’s closeness to ordinary people, and his message of inclusivity.
“Don’t judge anybody, because we’re not anybody to judge,” answered Rosalio Gonzalez when asked which of Francis’ teachings spoke to him the most.
Gonzalez, a parishioner of Divine Saviour Church near downtown LA, traveled to El Paso, Texas, in 2016 and saw Francis in the popemobile as he visited the U.S.-Mexico border to call for more humane immigration policies. He came to the cathedral Mass with the hope that Francis had reached his final destination.
“I’m just coming here to say, ‘Wait for me up there, give me some connection with St. Peter when I get there,” Gonzalez told Angelus.
Sister Tracey Sharp came to the Mass with members of her order, the Sisters of Charity of Rolling Hills. For Sharp, the way Francis “gave his life completely to his ministry” was a powerful example to her. But during her years working in the archdiocese’s marriage tribunal, she also came to appreciate how Francis moved to quietly streamline the process for annulments.
“It made it easier for us to work with some very difficult cases,” said Sharp, who now serves as associate vicar for women religious for the LA Archdiocese. “It was a very hidden change, and it’s not the one that got the attention in the press, but it helped us a lot, and it helped a lot of people.”
For Maria Morales, Pope Francis was special for his place in history as the first Latin American pope, and for canonizing St. Oscar Romero, the archbishop who was martyred during the civil war in El Salvador while Morales still lived there.
“He was a pope who cared about the lives of the marginalized, of the poorest, and for us immigrants who’ve had to leave our countries for different reasons,” said Morales, who came to the Mass from Long Beach.
After the Mass, members of the press gathered in the cathedral sanctuary to ask Archbishop Gomez about Francis’ legacy. When asked by a Spanish-speaking reporter if he thought the cardinals in next month’s conclave could find a new pope with Francis’ pastoral abilities, the archbishop had a simple answer.
“I’m not worried, because God will pick him,” replied Archbishop Gomez, pointing upward.
