In New Mexico, bells toll for ‘a man of the people’ and a voice for the poor

SANTA FE — In the New Mexico city that shared its namesake with the pope, local residents and tourists alike bowed their heads Monday and reflected on the death of Jorge Mario Bergoglio — known to most as Pope Francis.

During a Monday evening memorial Mass that mixed English and Francis’s native tongue of Spanish, Archbishop of Santa Fe John Wester told a crowd of about 250 people at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi that Pope Francis had brought out the best of the Roman Catholic tradition.

“He warmed our hearts, strengthened our faith and challenged us to live the gospel,” Wester said in his eulogy.

While the pope died nearly 6,000 miles away from New Mexico, Wester pointed out that Santa Fe’s initial name — Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís — was inspired by the same Italian saint from whom Pope Francis took his name.

The pope’s passing of a stroke followed a month of health concerns but came just a day after he delivered an Easter message and met with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, appearing to be in better health.

Pope Francis’ death dominated headlines worldwide, and in a state where 27% of adults identify as Catholic, the effects could be seen and felt.

At the Cathedral Basilica in Downtown Santa Fe, a steady stream of tourists and visitors stopped by the chapel Monday afternoon to pay their respects to Pope Francis. Dennis Brandon of Santa Fe wasn’t Catholic but said the late pope’s legacy drew him to the service.

“He was unique in so many ways,” Brandon said. “He created a sense of positive faith for people from all walks of life.”

Bruce Dennis of Connecticut, who was visiting New Mexico, said he came to the church primarily to get an up-close view of its architecture.

But he decided to also pay his respects to Pope Francis, saying, “I thought he was a good man. He really was a man of the people.”

While the Cathedral Basilica is usually closed on the Monday after Easter Sunday, it was opened for private worship after news spread of the pope’s death, said the Rev. John D. Cannon.

‘He challenged the powerful on Earth’

Most Catholic churches across Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Corrales typically sit vacant or dormant on Monday after the Easter weekend.

But in the North Valley just after 9 a.m. the bells at The Shrine of the Little Flower, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish, tolled as a small crowd from morning mass departed.

Though he was exhausted after “the marathon of Lent and holy week,” the head of the church, the Rev. Vincent Paul Chávez, prepared for another mass service at noon and was planning for another the following day when the Catholic school students would return from Easter weekend.

“He is the pope that absolutely gave hope and joy to the poor of the world, to the poor of humanity, and he challenged the powerful on Earth, in a just, in a noble, dignified treatment,” Chavez said. “He was very, very progressive, and tried to move the church forward.”

In the South Valley, Glenn Rosendale, executive director of the Trinity House Catholic Worker, a small catholic ministry office that offers services to people in marginalized communities and those experiencing homelessness, sifted through mail while recalling his reaction to learning of the pope’s passing.

“Joy,” he said. “It’s sad, but he was 88, for heaven’s sakes, and whoever has lived such a good life? He died with his boots on. … He died giving a blessing, he died on Easter, that’s the whole point of our faith.”

Rosendale also expressed his appreciation for the pope’s approach to immigration — noting his organization has housed migrants before — and for being a champion of the poor.

Just down the road, at the Holy Family Catholic Church, members gathered quietly for afternoon scripture. The group passed a replica of Pope Francis’s silver pectoral cross somberly between them.

“He was a pope of the people, like I’ve never seen,” said Jake Valencia. “He was one of us.”

New Mexicans recall pope’s humility

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis was the first person from Latin America, or the Southern Hemisphere, to take up the papacy; and the first non-European in more than a millennium.

Esther Lucero-Miner, the adult faith coordinator for the Holy Family Catholic Church, recalled the pope’s humility while holding a photo of the religious leader taken by members of the congregation who had met him on pilgrimage to the Vatican in years past.

“He could meet with the biggest leaders and the humblest of people — and he was the same,” Lucero-Miner said.

While the San Felipe de Neri Cathedral, perhaps the most well known in Albuquerque, did not draw large crowds inside or out on Monday, retired Albuquerque Public Schools Principal Shelly Campbell and her husband, retired local attorney David Campbell stopped outside the church to pay their respects.

The couple also recalled seeing the pope during his 2016 visit to Ecuador during their time with the foreign service.

“It was actually an amazing experience, because he was close friends with a priest who was very important to the Guayaquil church, and he visited privately with this priest, and then he attended a large outdoor function that the locals all attended,” Shelly Campbell said. “We got to see him as he passed by our residents there.”

According to news outlets that covered the event, the pope’s visits across the Central American country drew millions.

“He was in a very, very small vehicle, very humble vehicle. No, luxury vehicle or ‘Popemobile,’ he was like in a Fiat as he drove past,” David Campbell said.

David Campbell also called the pope someone who “did so much good and was revered by so many, and it will be hard to replace him,” he said.

Shelly Campbell called him “an important voice (at) this point in our history.”

Many more services are expected to be held across New Mexico in the coming weeks as Francis is interred, and a new pope is chosen.