NYC mourners share memories of Pope Francis and reflect on his 2015 Big Apple visit: Amazing soul
New Yorkers mourning the death of Pope Francis on Monday remembered the beloved pontiff as an “amazing soul” as they shared fond recollections of his two-day whirlwind stop in the Big Apple in 2015.“A pope dying is like losing a father in the family.This is one of our own,” Father Donald Haggerty told The Post outside St.
Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, where a noon Mass was being held to honor the pope, who visited the historic house of worship during his first and only US trip.“There are many people who are not Catholic that shed tears today,” Haggerty said.“He touched a lot of people outside the Church and in the Church.”Francis died overnight Monday at the age of 88 after battling a series of health problems in recent months.
He was remembered as a transformative figure in the Catholic church, ushering in an era of compassion for the less fortunate around the world.“Pope Francis was a man who loved the poor,” Father Hagerty said.“Loved the poor long before he became the pope.
And he loved the poor in a beautiful way.” During the pope’s historic September 2015 visit to New York, he was warmly greeted by tens of thousands of local faithful, who rolled out the red carpet as he spoke and held services at locales including the United Nations, Central Park, St.Patrick’s Cathedral and the 9/11 memorial.Carol Curtis, 81, who lives in Chelsea, teared up as she struggled to put her grief into words, remembering Francis’s “humility and ability to comfort people.“I think he was an incredible person.
I think in terms of all the people we have as leaders in the world, he’s the best,” said Curtis, who came to the church to pay her respects despite the fact that she was raised Catholic but no longer practices.“This is the most somber crowd I have ever seen at St.Patrick’s Cathedral.
Usually it’s tourists that come in, but it felt important to stop in today,” she said.“His legacy is going to be his humility and his abilit...