Charlotte bishop: ‘Day of sorrow’ for NC diocese but plan to celebrate Pope Francis’ life
Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte said Monday that the death of Pope Francis is a day of sorrow for the Catholic Church and the diocese in particular.
“Close to 600,000 Catholics, here in our diocese in western North Carolina, wake up this morning to the sad news and realize that the one thing that is assured for all of us is that death is not the final answer, but rather that we have been promised everlasting life,” Martin said at a news conference Monday at the diocese office in Charlotte. “I believe it’s fitting that we celebrate Pope Francis’ life within the Easter season, just yesterday himself having celebrated Easter, having celebrated the gift of resurrection that Jesus promises to all of us.”
Martin announced that the public is invited to join Catholics in remembering Pope Francis from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Western North Carolina churches across the Diocese of Charlotte. A large Mass to celebrate his life will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Saint Mark Catholic Church, 14740 Stumptown Road, Huntersville.
Catholic churches around the world observe nine days of mourning upon the passing of a pope.
Martin said Pope Francis had a genuine joy about life when he met him. During a meeting in September with other bishops, Martin said Francis was incredibly serious at times about topics. In various moments later he would laugh and joke about other things.
“In that regard I found him incredibly genuine and someone with whom I felt an immediate comfort, and I think most people would say the same,” Martin said.
Pope Francis appointed Martin to become the bishop of Charlotte, and Martin said he was honored to be chosen. Martin also felt blessed to have met past popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI before his election.
“Each of those men and their predecessors have made an incredible difference on our world and on me, personally,” he said. “Absolutely, I’m particularly saddened today.”
Martin humbly suggested that Pope Francis’ most significant contribution to the church was “synodality,” which he described as a process of church members walking and talking together.
“Basically, he called the church to be a more listening church, a church that listens in a time and in a world where listening is hard to find,” Martin said. “Everyone wants to be heard, not too many people want to hear — want to actually listen. And so he called the church to be in a perpetual posture of listening through synodality, through bringing people together to share where they were, but more importantly, less about sharing where they are, more about listening to where others are.”
In statements released by the diocese, the Rev. Mark Lawlor of St. Therese Church in Mooresville recalled the excitement around Pope Francis’ election.
“His ministry goals have been inclusive and open… I appreciate his wisdom and thoughtfulness.”
Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune of the Diocese of Charleston, the one Catholic diocese for South Carolina, issued a statement Monday that spoke of Pope Francis’ unwavering commitment to the world’s poor and impoverished.
“It is with deep sorrow that I join the Universal Church in mourning the passing of Pope Francis,” the statement said. “His leadership, compassion and unwavering commitment to peace and justice have inspired millions worldwide, and in a special way the young.”
Pope’s death
The pope’s warm, humble, no-nonsense manner galvanized the Roman Catholic Church and drew widespread admiration from outsiders almost from the moment of his surprise election to the throne of St. Peter in 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Francis was born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, the son of Italian immigrants. He was ordained as a priest in December 1969.
Francis, the first Latin American pope in history, was a native of Argentina, where he was a bishop. He hadn’t returned to his home country since being elected pope in 2013.
As pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio made his first trip outside Rome in July 2013, to the Italian island of Lampedusa to highlight the plight of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the lives lost at sea, according to the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops timeline of his papacy.
In 2015, Francis traveled to Cuba and made his first visit to the United States.
Francis in 2019 opened a global summit on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. He visited Iraq in 2021, and the same year underwent surgery to remove part of his colon.
Selecting a new pope
The Vatican’s process for selecting a new pope is called a conclave, known for the white smoke from the chimney at the Sistine Chapel to signify that a new pope has been chosen.
Cardinals will be called to the Vatican for the selection process. The Washington Post published a story Monday looking at some of the contenders.
Pope’s importance to Latin American Catholics
Father Agustin Guzman, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Rock Hill, said Monday in a phone interview Pope Francis was a “change agent” who emphasized the mercy of the Lord.
Pope Francis’ work reconciled the canons between the Latin and Eastern churches, doing some incredible work in bringing those codes together, Guzman said.
The Charlotte and Rock Hill regions have thousands of people, many of them Catholics, whose heritage is from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Guzman, who is of Cuban descent, said Pope Francis’ Latin American heritage was and remains important among Latin American Catholics.
“He was one of us in a sense,” Guzman said.
Father John Giuliani of All Saints Catholic Church in Lake Wylie has been in York County at the Rock Hill Oratory Catholic organization for 50 years.
Giuliani was pastor at Fort Mill’s St. Philip Neri church for more than a quarter century, and also has pastored at St. Mary in Rock Hill and Divine Saviour in York. He said Pope Francis was “a great pope” whose humility and compassion was known worldwide and in the York County community amongst Catholics and all people.
“He was very down to earth, a great guy,” Giuliani said by phone Monday. “An excellent human being.”
Pope Francis has a legacy of inclusiveness for all people, Giuliani said.
“Pope Francis will be a hard act to follow,” Giuliani said.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 8:21 AM.
