‘Everyone belonged’: Local clergy reflect on Pope Francis’ legacy

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday of a stroke, aged 88. Photo / AFP

Pope Francis, who died aged 88 on Easter Monday, has been described as a leader who transcended all faiths.

Gisborne’s St Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic parish priest Father Mark Field and former Gisborne priest and now Christchurch-based Bishop Michael Gielen are among those to have paid tributes to Francis.

Field told the Gisborne Herald on Tuesday he felt “very sad” on hearing news of the Pope’s death, which he received on the Vatican News’ Facebook page.

He sent it out on the St Mary’s Catholic church’s Facebook page and on the parish app.

While he had never met Francis in person, he remembered seeing him from a distance when he visited St Peter’s Square some years ago.

“I feel very privileged to have experienced 12 years of his papacy,” Field said.

“His message was that everyone belonged; he was all about inclusivity. Another constant memory was his commitment to peace and the futility of war.”

Field said something that struck him was Francis was loved by people of all faiths.

“It was beautiful thing that he has been able to transcend all faiths.”

A Requiem Mass or funeral mass will be held at St Mary’s church at 5.30pm on Thursday. The usual 9pm mass will not go ahead.

Bishop Michael Gielen, whose first parish was in Gisborne and who is now based in Christchurch. He returned to Gisborne over Easter for a funeral service of good friend Iain Gillies at St Mary's Star of the Sea.

Gielen, who was a young priest at St Mary’s in 1997, was in Gisborne on Monday to attend the funeral of former Herald editor Iain Gillies, who died last week (an obituary is to follow in the Herald).

Gielen has a special connection to the region and is a close friend of the Gillies family.

He attended Francis’ election in March 2013 when he was in Rome doing post-graduate work.

“I was in the square when he was elected and saw the white smoke, which signals the Roman Catholic Church has a new leader.”

He was among a crowd of between 3000 and 4000, which grew to about 100,000 after the Pope was elected.

It was Francis who appointed him Bishop of Christchurch in 2019.

Gielen is now based at The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, where he celebrated a special mass on Tuesday and will celebrate again on Friday at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral “to pray for the happy repose of the soul of Pope Francis”.

He spoke of Francis’ love for the poor and of his first papal trip outside Rome, which was to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

This was where many young African migrants died in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea as they tried to reach the shores of Europe in July 2013.

It felt significant Francis died on Easter Monday, a time for continuing the celebration of the resurrection and for reflecting on its meaning, he said.

Gielen caught his flight back to Christchurch after the funeral on Monday. He gifted Iain Gillies’ widow Flora rosary beads blessed by the Pope.