Bishop Daly: On the Passing of Pope Francis

Pope Francis greets Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Wash., during a meeting at the Vatican Feb. 3, 2020. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

The world received word today that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has passed from this life to the next.  I invite all the faithful of Eastern Washington to join me in praying for the repose of the soul of His Holiness.

Perhaps the greatest legacy which Pope Francis left the Church was his emphasis on mercy.  The Holy Father created hundreds of Missionaries of Mercy throughout the world and intended these priests to be living signs of God’s love and welcome to all those seeking forgiveness.  The fact that he designated three priests to be Missionaries of Mercy in the Diocese of Spokane demonstrated his fatherly care for our local Church.

It is not lost on me that it was Pope Francis who appointed me to Spokane and gave me the privilege of serving as the Chief Shepherd for the people of this diocese.

A special Mass for the deceased pope will be offered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes this coming Thursday, April 24th at 12:00 Noon. I encourage parishioners throughout the diocese to join me in prayer at that Mass.

Let us entrust the soul of Pope Francis to the prayers of Our Lady of Lourdes.  May God grant the Holy Father eternal light and peace. 

Most Reverend Thomas A. Daly

Bishop of Spokane, Washington

###

Biographical Chronology of Pope Francis by Inland Catholic staff

Jorge Bergoglio, who would later become Pope Francis, was born to Italian immigrant parents on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was the oldest of five children. 

After feeling a call to the priesthood during Confession in the 1950s, he sought to enter the seminary. He studied at the Archdiocesan Immaculate Conception Seminary for three years. In 1958, he joined the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) as a novice. He professed vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Jesuit in 1960. 

After formation at the Colegio del Salvador and the Facultades de Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood as a Jesuit Father on December 13, 1969 by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano.

Once ordained, he became a theology professor and completed his final stage of formation, tertianship at Alcalá de Henares in Spain, where he professed his final vows as a Jesuit in 1973. 

Throughout the 70s and 80s, Bergoglio served a six-year term as the provincial superior of the Argentine Jesuits, and later, he was a faculty member at San Miguel, his alma mater. 

Pope St. John Paul II named Bergoglio as Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires and was consecrated on June 27, 1992. He chose the episcopal motto: Miserando atque eligendo, which means "because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him" (Matthew 9:9–13)

He was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997, where he succeeded Cardinal Antonio Quarracuno after the cardinal died less than a year later in 1998.  

On February 21, 2001, Pope John Paul II elevated Bergoglio to the cardinalate. As Cardinal, he was known for his pastoral emphasis on humility and mercy, a simple lifestyle, commitment to church doctrine, and justice for the poor. 

After the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Bergoglio was elected on the second day of the 2013 conclave. He was inaugurated as pope on March 19, 2013, and took the papal name, Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.

During his 12 years reigning as pope, he was known for his emphasis on evangelization, Gospel poverty, simplicity, care for creation, and mercy.