Pope Francis Publicly Prayed for Victims of Eaton Fire

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff and leader of the Catholic Church, has died at the Vatican on Monday. He was 88.

Francis, the Bishop of Rome, died at 7:35 local time at the Vatican and “returned to the home of the Father,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said in an announcement.

In January, Pope Francis offered prayers to the victims of the Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena and some homes in Pasadena.

The fire, driven by strong winds, destroyed 9.000 structures and burned 14,000 acres. Eighteen people died in the fire.

“My heart is with the people of Los Angeles who are suffering so much as a result of the fires that have devastated entire neighborhoods and communities,” Francis said. “May Our Lady of Guadalupe intercede for everyone to be a witness of hope.”’

“We all learned of the death of Pope Francis very early on Easter Monday morning.  It is actually very beautiful that he entered eternal life after just having celebrated the Solemnity of Easter and the triumph of Christ over sin and death,” wrote Father Marcos Gonzalez of St. Andrew Church in Pasadena.

“While we are still in the Octave of Easter we now also begin the 9 days of mourning over his death.  In the sanctuary of our church is a portrait of Pope Francis next to the Easter candle that recalls the resurrection of Christ.  We will pray for him throughout these nine days at each Mass.”

In 2024, the St. Andrew Catholic School Choir sang at Vespers on New Year’s Eve alongside Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barger also reflected on the Pope’s passing.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the pope’s message of peace, unity and care for the most vulnerable transcended borders and faith.

“Today, we mourn the passing of Pope Francis — a global spiritual leader whose compassion, humility, and unwavering commitment to service touched the lives of millions,” Barger said.

The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope on March 13, 2013, and succeeded Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election.

Francis reached out to the LGBTQ+ community and cracked down on traditionalists, which created tension with conservatives in the Catholic Church.

He was pope during the coronavirus pandemic and asked his followers to use it as an opportunity to review the economic and political framework that he said was turning the wealthy against the impoverished.

“We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented,” Francis told an empty St. Peter’s Square in March 2020. Part of his message included stressing the need for “all of us to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other.”

The process will soon begin to decide the next pope.

When white smoke streams out of a chimney at the Sistine Chapel, it will signal that a new pope has been chosen and set off celebrations among 1.4 billion Catholics around the world.