Southland Catholics will get a chance to honor the late Pope Francis on Friday during a memorial Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
The Mass, at 12:10 p.m. Friday, will come ahead of Francis’ funeral in Rome, L.A. Archbishop José H. Gomez announced Tuesday.
The L.A. Mass will be “in thanksgiving for the life and ministry of Pope Francis,” Gomez said in a statement.
Gomez will lead the Mass and be joined by auxiliary bishops and other clergy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles “and many faithful to pray for the soul (of) the Holy Father and bid him a final farewell from our local church in the Archdiocese.”
Francis, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the first Latin American pontiff, died Monday in the Vatican at age 88 — one day after Easter.
He served as pope for 12 years. The Vatican reported the cause of death as a stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse.
Francis had been diagnosed with chronic lung disease and admitted to a hospital on Feb. 14 for a respiratory episode that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days in the hospital and made his final public appearance on Easter Sunday — blessing the faithful in St. Peter’s Square while sitting in a wheelchair.
The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became pope on March 13, 2013, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election.
Gomez also celebrated the 12:10 p.m. Mass on Monday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in honor of Francis.
“I join the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and Catholics all over the world, in grieving the loss of our Holy Father,” Gomez said in a statement.
“In this beautiful Easter season, when we celebrate our hope in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we pray that the angels may lead Pope Francis into paradise, that the saints and martyrs welcome him, and that God in his mercy will make his face shine upon his faithful servant and grant him eternal rest in the love that never ends.”
Gomez added that he will be spending the next few days reflecting with gratitude on the Holy Father’s kindness and pastoral care for those in Los Angeles.
“Over the years, he appointed seven auxiliary bishops to assist me in serving the family of God and he was always quick to show his spiritual closeness to us in our times of need,” Gomez said.
“It was just in January that he offered prayers and words of consolation as we faced the destruction caused by the wildfires in the Palisades and Altadena. I will never forget his fraternal comfort as we mourned the sudden taking of our beloved Bishop David O’Connell in 2023,” Gomez added.
“Pope Francis showed us, by his constant example, that we should have a great devotion to the Virgin Mary, who is our Blessed Mother and the Mother of the Church. We turn to Holy Mary now, and we ask for her protection and tender care. May she wrap our Holy Father in the mantle of her love. And may he rest in peace.”
The L.A. archdiocese has created a special webpage — LACatholics.org/pope-francis — dedicated to Francis. It includes Gomez’s statement, homily, and other writings on Francis, as well as videos, images and other resources.
The archdiocese said the page will be updated with information on Masses and other events during the Novendiales, the nine-day period of mourning for a deceased pope.
During that period, funeral rites are celebrated daily in Rome by the cardinals, and Masses are offered throughout the world for the repose of the departed pope’s soul.
Friday’s L.A. Mass will also be livestreamed on @LACatholics and OLACathedral Facebook channels.
The Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals will meet at the Vatican in the coming weeks to elect Francis’ successor.
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