In the wake of Pope Francis’s death, the Archdiocese of Miami on Monday said the progressive pontiff, who led the Roman Catholic Church since 2013, “never tired of defending the displaced migrant nor embracing the marginalized or excluded, whether at a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square or in a prison.”
“Pope Francis saw the Church as a ‘field hospital’ called to tend to the wounded on the battlefields of life, offering her medicine of mercy to all,” said the statement released over the name of Archbishop Thomas Wenski. “The Church, Pope Francis insisted, is not only to teach but to act — to embrace those on the periphery and to bring the light of Christ to the darkest corners of society.”
The 88-year-old pontiff, who was born in Argentina, “carried his valise, refused to be chauffeured in limousines, and eschewed symbols of pomp and circumstance, living not in the Apostolic Palace but in a room at the Vatican’s ‘hotel’. In this way, he inspired many to give the Church a second look. And perhaps he was more highly regarded by those outside the Church than by many within the Church.”
Wenski noted that after his election in 2013, Pope Francis made his first visit outside of Rome “to the marooned African boat people washed ashore on the small Italian island of Lampedusa. He never tired of defending the displaced migrant nor embracing the marginalized or excluded, whether at a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square or in a prison.”
Among a legacy of “firsts,” Wenski noted, Pope Francis was the first Jesuit to hold the office, the first to hail from the Americas, the first to address a joint session of Congress, “and the first Pope to appoint women to high positions in the Roman Curia previously held only by male prelates.”
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In his speech before Congress, which was delivered in 2015, the pope urged a welcoming hand to refugees, not rejection, a theme that contravenes today’s Trump Administration policy of blocking newcomers at U.S. borders.
“Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War,” the pope told the lawmakers nearly a decade ago. “This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions. On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves,” he added. “In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.”
In an interview, Wenski said he attended The Archdiocese of Miami statement did not mention Trump, and the president in a message of condolence via social media did not mention any of the pope’s progressive views.
“Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” Trump said on his social media platform,Truth Social.
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Wenski could not immediately be reached for comment to discuss the legacy of Pope Francis, and the degree to which the church leadership and its more than 1 billion members worldwide would carry forward the elements of the late Pope’s mission.
There are more than 1.9 million Catholics in Florida, according to the Florida Catholic Conference. The church’s activities in the state are overseen by seven dioceses. The Archdiocese of Miami includes Broward County, and the Diocese of Palm Beach, with its seat in Palm Beach Gardens, is led by Bishop Gerald Barabrito. It serves the counties of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indiana River and Okeechobee. The Catholic church operates 472 parishes and 51 missions, according to conference data.
The Pope never visited Florida. The only papal visit to the state came in 1987, when Pope John Paul II conducted a mass in Miami and was greeted by thousands, including then-President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan.
In 2015, the year of the speech before Congress, he did visit Havana, Cuba, before making a six-city swing in the U.S. that included Washington, Philadelphia and New York.
“Pope Francis leaves this world as a ‘pilgrim of hope,’” Wenski said in his statement. “May choirs of angels welcome you and lead you to the bosom of Abraham; and where Lazarus is poor no longer may you find eternal rest.”
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