Pope Francis was ambassador of 'peace, hope and love,' Toronto Archbishop says

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 8:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Pope Francis was a "global ambassador of peace, anticipation and love," the Archbishop of Toronto said Monday arsenic the city's Catholic assemblage woke to quality of his death.

Francis died astatine 88, the Vatican announced Monday.

Frank Cardinal Leo, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, said successful a connection Francis showed "humility, compassion and attraction for others, astir particularly the mediocre and marginalized."

"May we honour his bequest and lovingly clasp his invitation to beryllium missionaries of mercy, sharing the airy of Christ successful abundance arsenic we affirm the dignity of each quality beingness and foster a civilization of attraction and love," Leo said. 

The Archbishop was 1 of galore successful the GTA paying their respects to Francis. Meanwhile, cardinals from astir the satellite volition soon caput to Rome to instrumentality portion successful the conclave to elite the adjacent pope.

The precocious pope's progressive and inclusive cognition toward marginalized groups, including the 2SLGBTQ+ community, volition beryllium his legacy, a Toronto Anglican bishop said. 

"From the infinitesimal that helium became Pope 12 years ago, helium spoke and acted successful a mode that showed the religion and so the satellite that helium intended to bash things otherwise and beryllium a progressive dependable astir tons of antithetic issues," said Bishop Kevin Robinson, the suffragan, oregon assisting, bishop successful the diocese of Toronto. 

In June 2013, 4 months aft helium was elected, Francis said successful effect to a reporter's question, "If a idiosyncratic is cheery and seeks God and has goodwill, who americium I to judge?"

Robinson said Francis's words were "huge" for the Roman Catholic religion and besides gave anticipation to different Christian traditions that the religion "was embracing thing that it hadn't been capable to clasp before." 

He said helium is praying for those astir the satellite who are grieving the Pope's decease and praying for who volition beryllium the adjacent pontiff. 

"My ain hope, not surprisingly, is that [it] volition beryllium idiosyncratic who continues this progressive tone that we saw successful Pope Francis, idiosyncratic who is going to beryllium be a champion of the mediocre and the marginalized... and scope crossed to radical who person not for immoderate clip felt welcomed successful the likes of the church," helium said.