Most Reverend Gerald Kicanas walks towards the entrance of St. Augustine Cathedral in downtown Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, April 21, 2025. The Apostolic Administrator and former Bishop of the Diocese of Tucson held a reposal mass for the passing of the Catholic Pope Francis who died on Easter Monday. The 266th Pope was 88 and suffered a stroke and cardiac arrest.
Several hundred people came to mass at St. Augustine Cathedral to repose the soul of Pope Francis, 88, who passed away on Easter Monday morning, April 21.
The bells of the cathedral rang 88 times for each year of his life.
The Vatican reported that he suffered a stroke and cardiac arrest at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
He was elected Pope on March 13, 2023, as the 266th Pope, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI and the first to come from Latin America, which was significant for the Catholic Latino community across Southern Arizona.
Most Reverend Gerald Kicanas said the community is mourning but can also rejoice.
“He is now with the Lord, so we also rejoice that he is rewarded for a life well lived in the service of others," he said.
Kicanas served as bishop of the Diocese of Tucson from 2003 to 2017 and currently serves as the Apostolic Administrator, until a new bishop is chosen by the next pope.
In March, Edward Weisenburger, who served as Bishop of Tucson since 2017, was appointed as the Archbishop of Detroit.
Pope Francis was known for his progressive views, and selected his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi, who was known for his commitment to the poor.
Kicanas, who led Monday’s reposal mass, said the Holy Father taught the Catholic community how to be responsive to people’s needs.
“I suspect the next Holy Father will be thinking of that as he takes on this awesome and very complex and difficult responsibility in the Church, but somehow the Holy Spirit surprises us and we may be surprised again as we were when Pope Francis was chosen,” he said.
The Diocese of Tucson consists of nine counties and is the fifth-largest diocese in the continental United States.
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