TORONTO — Mourners gathered at a Toronto basilica for a mass dedicated to the late Pope Francis where the city’s Archbishop remembered a pontiff dedicated to building bridges and offering compassion to marginalized groups.
Cardinal Frank Leo told faithful who bowed their heads at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica to remember the many ways Francis served as the Church’s spiritual father and embodied Christian ideals including compassion for the sick, the poor and refugees.
Afterwards, Leo told media gathered at a press conference that Francis would ask about Canada in their meetings and cared about efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, as evidenced by his visit to Canada in 2022 to apologize for abuses in Church-run residential schools.
On a personal level, Leo described a man with a great sense of humour who was humble and had a “deep humanity.”
The Vatican announced yesterday that Francis had died of a stroke and heart failure at age 88. The funeral will be held Saturday in St. Peter's Square.
In Toronto, the Vatican and Canadian flags flew at half mast and bells rang just before noon Tuesday as people trickled into the downtown church to pay their respects to history's first Latin American pontiff.
Among them was 72-year-old Decio Raposo who called Francis “a great pope.”
"He was a good person. He came to represent God on earth and God bless his soul," Raposo said.
"To me he was a great Pope and it's sad to see him go."
Later in Montreal, Archbishop Christian Lépine was to preside over an evening requiem mass at the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral, followed by a vigil.
There was also set to be another evening prayer for the late pope in Toronto.
Francis is currently lying in state in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
The Vatican says his body will be transferred Wednesday to St. Peter's Basilica, where he will lie in state from 11 a.m. until midnight on Wednesday, from 7 a.m. until midnight on Thursday, and Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
In Toronto, a framed portrait of Francis sat at the front of the church alongside a bouquet including white, yellow and red roses and the flag of Vatican City.
"It is a day of mourning, a day of sadness but in the Easter Octave and in this Holy Year, it is a day of hope and day also of thanksgiving to God for the gift that he has given us in Pope Francis," Leo told congregants.
In his address, Leo noted that “pontiff” means “bridge” and said the Pope embodied that mission in a special way.
“Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth, between the Father and us. But the Pope, in a special way, embodied that mission to build bridges among us, among peoples in the world. And we thank God, and we thank him for leading that example, by example, in helping to build bridges with others, with all peoples," said Leo, among the last group of cardinals Francis elevated into the role back in December, and one of five cardinals from Canada.
He said Pope Francis also embodied Christ's compassion, “especially to the sick, to the poor and those who are in prison, those who are suffering, those on the margins and those who are refugees."
And he said Francis epitomized God’s closeness, compassion and tenderness in many ways.
“One stands out particularly, just less than three years ago, when he came to our country to be close to us and close with Indigenous Peoples,” he said.
-With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.
Maan Alhmidi and Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
