New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan had plenty to say about Pope Francis, who died on Monday, but he kept his remarks brief.
“Believe me, I could preach longer,” Dolan said Tuesday during a Mass at Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “But Pope Francis always complained about priests preaching too long.”
Instead, Dolan used the 45-minute midday Mass to laud the late pontiff as “a gift to be long savored.”
“He was a troubadour of God’s mercy, constantly preaching God’s tender mercy for us and encouraging our tender mercy for one another,” Dolan said. “For us Catholics, this is a death in the family. We didn’t call him Holy Father for nothing.”
Dolan offered prayers for Pope Francis at the venerable cathedral the archbishop dubbed “America’s Parish church.”
Joining him were Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy as well as civic and elected leaders including Mayor Adams.
Dolan saluted the worldwide Catholic leader a day after the pontiff died after a stroke and heart failure at his Vatican apartment.
The frail Francis had celebrated Easter with public words to his faithful flock and a brief meeting with Vice President Vance.
Dolan even found time for a lighthearted moment when he asked Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Holy See’s representative to the United Nations, if he was out of a job now.
Caccia will deliver a mass in Pope Francis’ honor at St. Patrick’s on Saturday.
A picture of the pope sat on the cathedral’s altar, flanked by two lit white candles.
Dolan thanked God for allowing the world to see the pope’s highs and lows.
“We’re grateful for what God taught us about how he lived and about how he died,” Dolan said. “He was confidant enough to let us see his struggle.”
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