Pope Francis’ death early Monday sent many New Yorkers into mourning, with everyday citizens extolling his legacy as a humanitarian and elected leaders expressing their condolences for the pontiff and the estimated more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide.
Outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown, Kim Campise said the news felt “surreal.”
“You kind of take everything for granted … and then it’s gone,” she said. “He’s definitely the pope of the people, made you feel like you were one.”
Francis died at 88 years old at his Vatican residence around 7:30 a.m. Rome time, the Catholic Church announced. He gave an Easter blessing Sunday as hundreds of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to mark the holiest of Catholic holidays.
“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others,” he said, according to remarks released by the Vatican. “May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions.”
Vatican officials said Francis died after a cerebral stroke. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires and became the 266th pope in 2013.
During an Easter Monday mass at St. Patrick’s, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Catholics were feeling both sorrow at Francis’ passing and gratitude for “the gift that he was to the church, to the world, to us.” In a statement, the archdiocese called him a “shepherd of mercy, voice for the poor, and witness to God’s love.”
People streaming in and out of the cathedral praised Francis’ work, including his social justice efforts in Argentina, where he served as an archbishop and cardinal and led the Jesuit order.
“It’s a miracle that he was able to be here for Easter,” said Long Island resident Tom Driscoll, who noted the church was a lot busier than normal. “People came out to show their respects.”
Madeline Justiniano said Francis was particularly important to immigrants and marginalized communities as the first Latin American pope.
“I’m not really Catholic, but I think he did a lot for a lot of people,” she said through tears. “He was so accepting. I think that out of all the popes we’ve had in recent memory, he touched the most people.”
“I lit a candle for him … I haven't done that in so long,” she added. “With a lot of deportations happening, especially of Latin American people in the U.S., he was sort of a person they could look to, look up to and feel that if no one was looking out for them, at least there was a pope who cared.”
People visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to mourn Pope Francis on April 21, 2025.
Robert Brennan, the bishop of the Brooklyn Diocese, which includes Queens, said Francis would “always be remembered for his profound respect for the dignity of all people.” In a statement, he said the pope was committed to improving the environment, promoting unity among people of faith, and aiding poor and oppressed people.
Brennan will celebrate mass in Francis’ honor at noon Monday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn, according to the diocese. The mass will be broadcast live on NET TV and streamed on the channel’s website.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is Catholic and met with the pope during a Vatican climate summit last year, said Francis “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.
“We should all strive to carry on his legacy,” she added in a statement.
Francis came to New York City in September 2015 as part of a pastoral visit to the United States where he also visited Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Thousands of people turned out for the occasion, which featured stops at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Central Park as well as a mass at Madison Square Garden.
Francis was recently hospitalized for a respiratory emergency that turned into life-threatening double pneumonia, and spent five weeks in the hospital, the Associated Press reported.
Pope Francis rides through Central Park in the popemobile on Sept. 25, 2015.
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday said he was mourning the pope, adding that he was ordering flags at city buildings to half staff to honor him. The mayor met with Francis during a trip to a Rome conference on “human fraternity” last year.
“As someone deeply connected to my faith and who represents a city of millions of Catholics, my visit to the Vatican to meet with and hear directly from Pope Francis last year was one of the most sacred and special moments of my life,” Adams said in a statement. “Pope Francis led with kindness, grace, and faith as he helped build a better world and unite all people, regardless of their background. His decades of spreading peace and love will forever be remembered.”
The Vatican said Cardinal Kevin Farrell, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, would preside over a death rite for Francis as well as the placement of his body in a coffin Monday. The rite is set to take place in the chapel of the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
The Vatican also said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti would lead a recitation of the rosary for Francis on Monday in St. Peter’s Square.
Dolan, the New York archbishop, said in an interview on SiriusXM that the pope's wake at Vatican City's St. Peter's Basilica would likely last until Friday or Saturday, culminating in a funeral and burial. Dolan said he and other members of the College of Cardinals would begin meeting to discuss the next papacy, with a conclave launching in the next few weeks.
This story has been updated with additional information.
