Members of the Roman Catholic faith, along with people from various religious backgrounds, gathered at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Port of Spain earlier today for a Requiem Mass in honour of the life and legacy of Pope Francis.
The Mass was led by the Archbishop of Port of Spain, the Most Reverend Charles Jason Gordon, who served as Chief Celebrant. In his homily, he said Pope Francis truly changed the world by challenging mindsets toward society’s biggest issues.
“For me, Pope Francis is not just a Pope. He is also that. He is a spiritual father to me. He is a spiritual mentor to me. He has guided my thinking and my life and how I see myself as Archbishop.”
Archbishop Gordon surmised that issues of racism, despair and negativity would be the issues Pope Francis would address if he were to look at T&T today. The Archbishop said Pope Francis showed deep compassion and heart with no bureaucracy.
“In the Catholic News back page for this weekend, I answer a question: Do I think he’s a saint? Do you think he’s a saint? And the same way I believe that Anthony Pantin is a saint is the same way I believe Pope Francis is a saint. The two men were cut from one cloth.”
He said Pope Francis had a tremendous influence on the world.
“As we remember his life, what we remember is not the actions that he did but the one working in him that allowed those actions to come to the fore; as a contemplative, he saw with eyes that others couldn’t see with because his heart was wide open to Jesus Christ and all that Christ invited him to.”
Pope Francis was the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the first appointed from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere. He was born in Argentina.
He died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, following a stroke and subsequent irreversible heart failure.
The funeral will take place on Saturday, in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.