DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Angie Cruz, a parishioner of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn, was awakened early on April 21 by a text message from her sister informing her that Pope Francis had died.

Like millions of people around the world, Cruz had been worried about the Pontiff’s health ever since he was hospitalized for 38 days from February into March. However, she had hoped that his frail health would take a turn for the better. 

“Now that this happened,” Cruz said of his death, “I was in shock. I cried.”

Cruz was one of the grieving Catholics who attended a noon Mass, celebrated by Bishop Robert Brennan, in tribute to Pope Francis. 

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Another parishioner, Frost Hernandez, also expressed shock at the pope’s passing on the day after Easter Sunday. 

“I think that we all knew that he was doing unwell,” he said. “But for it to fall right after Easter was the biggest sort of shock.”

Bishop Brennan, who was appointed the bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn by Pope Francis in 2021, reflected on the 88-year-old pontiff’s passing and shared his favorite memories of him.

“We spoke yesterday that Jesus is risen. We expressed our belief and our hope that we will ourselves live forever. And the Holy Father did that himself in St Peter’s Square yesterday — gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus,” Bishop Brennan said prior to Mass. “And so now it’s time for us to put that into practice, to live our hope and thank God for the gift of Pope Francis and commit him to the loving care of the Lord.”

He recalled a papal audience he attended with priests from the Diocese of Brooklyn during a retreat in which the group visited Assisi and Rome last year.

“Anytime that I met him, he was always filled with joy,” he said. “I had the chance to greet him, and there’s always a big smile.”

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One of his favorite memories of Pope Francis was the Mass the Holy Father celebrated at Madison Square Garden during his 2015 visit to New York. Bishop Brennan was an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Rockville Centre at the time.

“He looked up and he said, very, very seriously, ‘Jesus is walking in our city.’ Being here in this city, that meant a lot,” Bishop Brennan recalled.

In 2019, Bishop Brennan attended an Ad Limina Apostolorum — a mandatory meeting in which the Vatican summons bishops to Rome — and was struck by the Holy Father’s informal style.

“He met with the bishops for, I would say, almost two hours, just in an open forum, where he said, ‘Okay, ask me anything you want to ask. Tell me anything you want to talk about.’ And I was struck by his fraternal style and his friendliness,” Bishop Brennan recalled.

“And really, he did open up somewhat personally,” he added, “but also he engaged us like a pastor among pastors. And I just really enjoyed that.”

Hernandez, a Mexican-American, said the Argentinian pope’s death is particularly sad for the Latino community. 

“As a Latino, I think that a lot of people saw themselves in him, and one of the things that I think I appreciated most about him was how relatable he was and how personable he was and how compassionate he was,” Hernandez said. 

“And when he spoke, you saw everyone he represented — all walks of life,” he noted. “That was something that meant the most to me.”

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Cruz respected many aspects of Pope Francis’ papacy, especially his concern for the environment. One of the pope’s most famous encyclicals was Laudato Si’, in which he urged the faithful to care for the earth. 

“He was the green pope,” Cruz said.

Bishop Brennan was asked at a news conference to reflect on how the pope would want the faithful to carry on. 

“How would he want us to live his memory? To live not for ourselves alone, but for God and for others,” Bishop Brennan said. “How would he want us to honor his memory in concrete ways? Reach out to one another, to lift the burdens from one another, and to help one another to see the power of the love of Jesus Christ.”