Archbishop Kurtz accompanied the Holy Father during his historic visit to the United States in 2015. Speaking with Vatican News, the Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville, Kentucky, said that not only the Church but the world mourns the death of Pope Francis.
In a world full of wounds, he carried God’s message of mercy
“People longed for his message of mercy,” he says. “The Church and our nation saw the face of God’s mercy in Francis. He emphasized that he was not the Messiah, but Jesus.”
Archbishop Kurtz believes that Francis was so warmly received in the United States because we live in a world that wounds, where people need words of mercy.
The Archbishop also emphasizes the beautiful pastoral message that Francis included in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, whose words flowed from Francis’ heart and touched on the most important issues for him.
Message to Congress
The Archbishop also recalls Francis’ speech to both houses of Congress. “His address to the joint session of Congress was the most moving for me and perhaps will be the most remembered, not only in the annals of the Church, but in the history of our nation,” says Archbishop Kurtz.
And that’s because Pope Francis spoke about freedom and the need to use freedom well and to treat people with dignity.
“In particular, he spoke about American heroes, people, everyone, from Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, to Thomas Merton, to Dorothy Day,” he adds.
Drawing from memories of Francis
He recalls that in the USA, Francis visited a prison in northeast Philadelphia. “It struck me that one of the last pastoral visits he made during the Easter period was again a prison,” says Archbishop Kurtz. “Certainly our Church is in mourning, but I think many of us will simply draw from the beautiful memories of our Holy Father,” he adds.
