“The Catholic Church knows the importance of promoting friendship and respect among men and women of different religious traditions.””

VATICAN CITY – Ten years ago, Pope Francis landed in New York on a chartered Boeing aircraft and captivated throngs of people – including 18,000 at a Mass in Madison Square Garden, celebrated by the Pope himself.

Among the huge crowd were some from Sullivan County, cheering and praying on that September 25, 2015. Now, with the death of the 88-year-old Pope Francis on April 21, some are remembering.

“He was a great, great person,” said Luis Alvarez, Sullivan County Legislator and communicant at St. Peter’s Church in Liberty. Alvarez was among the thousands of people at Madison Square Garden 10 years ago.

“The pope was very spiritual but down to earth,” Alvarez said. “His theme was ‘let’s walk together.’ He believed that the job of a Christian is to take care of people. I’m now reading his book,” (recently published by Random House and entitled ‘Hope, the Autobiography of Pope Francis.’)

Roseann Brewer, secretary of St. George-St. Francis in Jeffersonville and Youngsville, and friend Lisa Layman were among the 2015 welcome to Pope Francis in New York City.

“What I liked about him was that he didn’t want to live in a palace (as other popes did),” said Brewer. “Riches were available to him, but he chose to live a humble life. He chose simplicity by living in a small apartment even though wealth was made available to him.”

Friend Lisa Layman was shocked last week when she heard of the pope’s death.

“I had just gotten up early that morning and happened to look at my phone,” said Layman. “I was scrolling when I read that he had died. I took a deep breath. I had to catch myself.”

“I was very saddened by his passing,” said Layman, who had served as principal at St. Peter’s Regional School in Liberty. She and her teacher-husband had lived in Jeffersonville and now reside in Maryland.

“This pope was the right man at the right time,” Layman said. “He took Catholics and said it’s not good enough to be comfortable. He challenged us to be better – to be inclusive, compassion and empathetic.”

Poverty, peace 

and the earth

It was in 2013 when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took his papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, known for the saint’s love of nature and the poor. 

Soon Pope Francis had set up a medical clinic in St. Peter’s Square and had showers installed for homeless people. His significant actions included addressing environmental concerns through his Laudato Si encyclical (a formal letter from the pope). 

He pushed for the Catholic Church to recognize its responsibility for the care of earth, “which we must love and protect — and we can do much good for those who are poor, weak and suffering, to favor justice, to promote reconciliation, to build peace.”

“He was in touch with the environment,” agreed Father Ed Bader, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Liberty and dean of the priests in Sullivan County. “We’re supposed to care for God’s creation, right? And the pope had a soft spot for the poor immigrant. He listened to people at the bottom.”

The pope also reached out to other religious sects, meeting with the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Jain delegations at the Vatican. 

“The Catholic Church knows the importance of promoting friendship and respect among men and women of different religious traditions,” Pope Francis said during the meeting 

But likely, it was the priests everywhere that he cared about most. 

“This is what I am asking you,” the pope said with emphasis. “Be shepherds with the ‘smell of the sheep,’ so that people can sense that the priest is not just concerned with his own congregation, but is also a fisher of men.”

“Strip yourselves of your pre-constituted ideas,” he said, “your dreams of greatness, your self-assertion, in order to put God and people at the center of your daily concerns.”

A pastor, he said, should be capable of living, laughing and crying with his people. For the good of all people, the care of the poor and the future of the earth, religions must cooperate in reminding modern men and women that God exists and has a plan for their lives and their behavior.