Pope Francis' death: Long Islanders remember his compassion and willingness to push boundaries

As Long Island Catholics looked ahead to Pope Francis’ funeral and wondered who the next pope will be, they remembered him Monday for his welcoming spirit, his kindness toward the poor, and his willingness to push the boundaries of what was acceptable to the traditional faithful.

While the 88-year-old pontiff had been seriously ill, many were still stunned to hear of his death overnight Monday because he had appeared in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, hours before. The cause was a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said Monday afternoon.

"It is beyond words after seeing Pope Francis on Easter Sunday bestowing his special blessing and then in the popemobile," said the Rev. Frank Pizzarelli, who runs Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson. "He was the people's pope. He didn't just talk the talk. He walked the walk.

"His constant reminder of the call to radical inclusivity, that everyone is welcome, just constantly reminded me of what Jesus wanted all of us to be about, especially his priests, making everyone feel welcomed without shame, blame, and guilt," Pizzarelli added.

Jim Morgo, a longtime parishioner at Our Lady of the Snow Roman Catholic Church in Blue Point, said he was shocked when he woke up Monday morning and learned of the pope’s death.

"My first reaction was, ‘Oh no,’ ” he said. "It was unexpected because all indications were he was on the road to recovery. Coming right after Easter made it almost more difficult to grasp" since Easter is a day of joy for Catholics marking Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

"What follows of course is the apprehension of what kind of pope are we going to get next?" Morgo added. "Are we going to have someone who goes backward, or are we going to have someone with his understanding and love of all humanity, his understanding of the suffering of migrants and the poor?"

Francis "wasn’t dogmatic," he said. "He seemed to have a flexibility and understanding."

Around 7:25 a.m., staff at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre hung purple-and-black bunting outside the front doors, mourning the pope’s death.

A photo of Francis on Easter Sunday was placed on the altar for Mass, surrounded by flowers from the previous day’s services.

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: Pope Francis through the years

Bishop John Barres, head of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, celebrated the 7:45 a.m. Mass at the cathedral, telling more than 30 of the faithful that Francis dedicated his life to others as the "light of Jesus Christ."

"We see now, 24 hours later, it was a fitting farewell to the world," Barres said about Francis visiting crowds on Easter.

Barres, who leads 1.2 million Catholics on Long Island, added in a statement that "Pope Francis’ passionate love for the Church and the world ... will continue to inspire us as the Holy Spirit leads us further into the 21st century."

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said they planned to lower flags to half-staff from Monday until the day of the pope's funeral.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also directed flags to be lowered to half-staff.

Francis’ "leadership transcended religious boundaries," Hochul said in a statement. "He embodied the values Christ taught us every day: helping the less fortunate, calling for peace, and ensuring every person is treated as a child of God."

Maria Traversa, 76, of Rockville Centre, who attended the St. Agnes Mass, said she didn’t agree with all of Pope Francis’ teachings but felt lucky to have his leadership for so many years.

"He was a good pope," Traversa said. "He brought a lot of the country together."

When she heard the news Monday morning, she felt a sense of relief because Pope Francis was sick for so long.

"In a lot of ways, it’s sad to say goodbye," Traversa said.

Parishioners of St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church in Brentwood, where 42% of residents are foreign-born and nearly three-quarters are Latino, said they felt a special bond with the church’s first Latin American pope, who was the son of Italians who immigrated to Argentina during the fascist reign of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Ana Cuzzone, of Manorville, who drove to St. Anne’s from her real estate office in Bay Shore to pray for Francis, is from Bolivia, which borders Argentina.

Having an Argentine pope "was a source of great pride for us," she said in Spanish.

She was moved by how Francis "delivered messages of peace and love to children, to the entire world, to [immigrants without documentation]. For him, no such division existed. For him, all of us are one in this world."

Maribel Santos, a Salvadoran immigrant who came to the United States in 1999, praised Francis in Spanish "for his humility, for his simplicity. He didn’t like expensive things."

Francis shunned some of the trappings of his post, choosing to live in a simple apartment rather than a luxurious penthouse where for decades his predecessors had lived. He repeatedly told priests that they should be "shepherds living with the smell of the sheep," as he said shortly after his March 2013 election.

The Rev. Jerry DiSpigno, a priest from Long Island, said he was a front-row witness the night in Rome the priest from Argentina became Pope Francis. He was close enough to see Francis adjust his glasses from a second-floor balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica as he bowed to ask the crowd to pray for him.

"I could see everything. I saw his face. I saw his expressions. He was so close," DiSpigno said Monday. "There's a great sadness because I was there."

After that night in St. Peter’s Square, DiSpigno said, "every single time I saw him on TV, he was always my pope because I was there."

While Francis was beloved by many, some of his positions were not supported by all Catholics, especially as he advanced causes such as gay rights and women deacons.

Francis allowed priests to bless same-sex marriages, spoke out in support of migrants, and called for more action on climate change. He once famously said, "Who am I to judge?" when asked about gay priests.

"It's obvious some of his remarks like about immigration or the wall were ... not so lightly veiled shots at [President Donald] Trump," said former GOP Rep. Peter King, a lifelong Catholic. "Trump's a big person, he can handle it. I have no problem with that being part of the public debate."

King added that it was an "inspirational feeling" to be inside Madison Square Garden when Francis celebrated Mass there during his 2015 visit to the United States.

"He was a man of God," King said Monday. "He certainly was committed, he was dedicated."

For some Catholics, Francis did not go far enough.

Phyllis Zagano, a Hofstra University senior research associate, was appointed by Francis to a commission to study bringing back the role of women deacons, who would not be priests but would perform some of the same duties such as preaching at Mass and baptizing people.

Francis in the end did not allow women deacons, but he put the issue on the table and gave tantalizing hints that he would like to see it happen, Zagano said.

"He was an extraordinary individual who took chances, and I think one of the chances he took was to introduce the discussion of ordaining women in the diaconate," she said. Francis "moved the church really forward."

His death hit home especially hard at Long Island’s only parish run by Jesuits, the religious order to which Francis belonged. Francis was the first Jesuit pope in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church.

"We are all saddened here, as a pope and as a fellow Jesuit. It hits home a little bit more," said the Rev. James Donovan, pastor of St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside.

He added that he and another Jesuit at his parish, the Rev. Bret Stockdale, were ordained in June 2013, making them among the first Jesuits ordained in Francis' papacy.

Francis "wrote and spoke really as a pastor," Donovan said. "His words were accessible to all people. You didn’t have to have a degree in theology to understand him."

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the head of the Archdiocese of New York, took part in the conclave that elected Francis in 2013. On Monday, he said the pontiff "touched us all with his simplicity, with his heart of a humble servant."
 

The Rev. Larry Duncklee, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Riverhead, remembered how Pope Francis pushed for showers to be made for the poor in the Vatican, and took the historic step of washing the feet of female prisoners in Rome on Holy Thursday in 2024. Those moments, he said, exemplified Francis’ compassion.

"He showed by his actions," Duncklee said.